Schoolcraft College of Livonia, Mich., sent a quartet of sophomores to the Division I ranks this week.

Schoolcraft Head Coach Carlos Briggs filled JUCO Junction in on the decisions of 6-7 power forward Marcus Johnson, 6-11 center Lamont Arrington, 5-11 combo guard Ryan Baumgartner and 5-10 point guard Ray Metcalf.

The 6-11, 220 pound Arrington has signed with Colorado. The Buffaloes were in the market for a five man when 7-0 junior David Harrison declared for the NBA Draft.

Arrington signed in the fall with Houston, but a coaching change at the Conference USA program prompted him to seek and obtain a release from his scholarship.

South Florida, Marshall, Purdue, Nebraska, Seton Hall, UNLV and Clemson were among the other programs who looked at Arrington this spring.

Arrington averaged 9.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and shot 62 percent from the field in 2003-2004.

"Lamont had a good year," Briggs explained in a previous interview. "He improved every game, but we simply didn't get the ball to him enough."

"If we had gone to him more, he probably would have been a double-double guy," Briggs continued. "Strength and conditioning will be the key, because he has good hands and changes ends of the floor well."

Johnson, an impressive 220 pound run/jump athlete, signed with Central Florida, Briggs said.

Back in the fall, Johnson visited Texas A&M, but he opted to sign late. Bowling Green, Buffalo, Southern Miss, UNLV and Houston also contacted Briggs regarding Johnson this spring.

Johnson averaged 8.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for the Ocelots in 2003-2004, shooting 50 percent from the floor and 54 percent from the foul line.

"Marcus can knock down the 15-footer, but what he does best is run and jump," Briggs noted in a previous interview.

Baumgartner signed with Indiana/Purdue-Fort Wayne after fielding interest from programs such as Gardner-Webb, Florida International and Oakland University.

A 5-11, 165 pound combo guard from Muncie, Ind., Baumgartner averaged 17.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

Baumgartner was the Ocelots' top three-point threat this season. He connected on 93 three-pointers at a crisp 46 percent clip, and also converted 82 percent of his free throws.

"Ryan goes hard in practice and in games," Briggs told us in a previous interview. "He's best suited for an uptempo system, and while he has a funny shot, it goes in."

Ray Metcalf, a 5-10 point guard from Detroit, will continue his basketball career and education at the University of Detroit.

Briggs said that Metcalf will sit out at Detroit next year and then play the following two years (2005-2007) for the Titans.

A transfer from Dodge City C.C. in Kansas, Metcalf averaged eight points, two rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.9 steals per game at Schoolcraft this season. He shot 48 percent from the floor, 33 percent beyond the arc and 70 percent from the foul line.

"Raymond is quick, athletic and he defends," Briggs said in an earlier interview. "He played well for us toward the end of the game, but he needs to continue working on controlling tempo."

Sophomores Anton Palmer and Derrick Ponder remain open this spring, pending their academic situations.

Point guard Ricky Morgan, who recently copped MVP honors in a Michigan/Ohio JUCO All-Star game, is also undecided.

JUCO Junction will keep you posted on the remaining available Ocelot sophomores as their scenarios continue to unfold. Stay tuned!