MARYVILLE, Mo. – Northwest Missouri State University head men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum has announced three additions, Diego Bernard, Xavier Rhodes and Luke Waters’ to the 2018-19 Bearcat roster. All three players were selected to the 2018 GKCBCA All-Star Game.

Bernard was an all-state performer at Lafayette High School in St. Joseph, Mo.

“Diego is an incredible athlete and has the ability to make plays off the dribble and score from multiple levels. What sets him apart from others is his mentality on defense and the edge that he plays with on the court,” said McCollum. “He’s another great player from a very good high school program (St. Joe Lafayette) that we have a lot of success recruiting from in the past ”

Bernard helped lead a senior campaign where Lafayette High School had 22 wins, a MEC Conference Championship, a District Championship and a Sectional Championship game appearance. He was named all-conference four years, all-district three years, a Class 3 all-state selection and is a member of his schools 1,000-point club.

Rhodes was a three-year varsity letterman at Rockhurst High School.

“Xavier is a very quick and is very tough to contain off the dribble. He is an incredible finish at the rim, one of the best that we have seen at the high school level. His court vision and ability to get his teammates involved stuck out a lot in the recruiting process.”

Rhodes senior season included helping lead his team to 20 wins, a District Championship, and a Sectional Championship game appearance. He averaged 15 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and three steals a game. He was also on the 2018 Missouri Class 5 All-state team.

Waters’ was a four-year varsity player and all-time leader scorer at Olathe Northwest High School.

“Luke comes from a great high school program at Olathe Northwest that has had a lot of talent over the years with Shavon Shields (Nebraska) and Willie Cauley-Stein (Kentucky, Sacromento Kings). Luke’s name stands atop of the program in terms of scoring and leading his team to the first ever state tournament appearance for the school. He is a high character kid that can score in a variety of ways.”

Waters’ led his team to first state appearance in school history as a junior and was a 1,000-point scorer. He was a Kansas All 6A 1st Team as a senior and a two-time Sunflower League 1st team.

— Northwest Athletics —