GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG men's basketball head coach Wes Miller announced the signing of Francisco Alonso (Malaga, Spain/Cushing Academy) to a national letter of intent Thursday. Alonso will join the Spartans' team for the 2015-16 season as a true freshman.

“We are excited to welcome Francisco to UNCG,” Miller said. “He is a terrific shooter, ball handler and decision maker. In Europe, he has competed at a high level while playing for the U18 and U16 Spanish National Teams and has also benefited from spending a year under Barry Connors at Cushing Academy this past season. He is a terrific young man that we believe will make positive contributions to our program, both on and off the floor.”

Alonso, a 6-4 guard from Malaga, Spain, spent this past year at Cushing Academy in Massachusetts playing for Barry Connors in the prep program. He averaged 17.0 points, 6.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game for the Penguins. He helped Cushing post an 18-8 overall record last season and make an appearance in the New England Prep Tournament quarterfinals. He is rated the No. 6 player in the state of Massachusetts for the class of 2015 and is the No. 21 in all of New England by the New England Recruiting Report.

Alonso represented his home country of Spain in the 2014 U18 European Championships in Konya, Turkey, where he started all nine games at a guard position. He averaged 15.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists in the tournament for the National Team as he helped Spain finish fifth overall in the European Championships. He scored in double figures in eight of the nine contests, including 29 points against Greece and 22 points against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Alonso also took part in the Nike International Junior Tournament where he was named to the Euroleague All-Tournament Team. Additionally, he represented Spain in the 2012 U16 European Championships where he helped it to a seventh place finish. He averaged 4.7 points as a reserve for the U16 team, including 10 points against both Croatia and Italy.

Alonso becomes the fifth player signed in this year's recruiting class, joining the four who signed in November in Demetrius Troy (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God), Taqqi Muhammad (Richmond, Va./John Marshall), Jelani Mofford (Mississauga, Ontario/Athlete Institute Basketball Academy) and James Dickey (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God).

-UNCG-