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The Hood College men's basketball team lost two key in-state products to graduation, and head coach Tom Dickman has no problem staying close to the well to replace them.

Graduating seniors Tim Abercrombie, a Thomas Johnson alum and Jeff Willison were key factors in the backcourt and frontcourt, respectively. Abercrombie was one of the top perimeter shooting threats for the Blazers, while Willison was the 6-foot-6 starting center.

In the past month, Dickman has pulled in two Frederick County recruits to address both needs. First, Justin Stone of Brunswick gives Hood another post player at 6-4, and 200 pounds.

"We are very happy that Justin has decided to attend Hood and be a part of our basketball program," said Dickman of Stone, who averaged 16.0 points and 9.8 rebounds per game last season. "He knows how to play, he's tough and he competes at a very high level all the time."

And on the outside, there's LaQuan Randolph of Tuscarora.

"[Randolph] brings a level of athleticism and aggressiveness that we need," Dickman said. "He comes from an excellent high school program and he is used to winning."

While it's difficult to say that any freshman has a shot of starting right away at the college level, the Blazers will be going young next season. There was only one junior on the roster last year, with Thomas Johnson graduate J'Air Brady. He'll most likely return to start at forward, while sophomore Brenden Straughn, a 5-10 guard from Eleanor Roosevelt in Prince George's County, is the only other player with a significant amount of starts last year.

"I think coach Dickman and the Hood program are a terrific fit for Justin," said Brunswick head coach Dan McLane.

"It came down to Hood and Shenandoah [University] at the end, and he felt more comfortable with the staff and the players at Hood."

The Blazers were a bit small at the guard last year, with five guys under 6-0. Their lone guard over 6-0feet was Abercrombie.

But at 6-1 and loads of jumping ability, Randolph gives Hood an improvement on the perimeter. In his final year for Tuscarora, Randolph averaged 11 points and nine rebounds.

Including the two new recruits, there are now eight Maryland products on Hood's roster, half of them from Frederick County.