SILOAM SPRINGS — John Brown University head men’s basketball coach Jason Beschta announced the signings of Boaz Camp, Payton Guiot and Latrell Maitland on June 28 for the upcoming 2021-22 season.
Boaz, a prep standout, Guiot, a transfer, and Maitland, a former National Basketball League (England and Wales) join 18 returners from the shortened 2020-21 season. Last season, the Golden Eagles finished with an 8-7 overall mark and a 6-6 record in Sooner Athletic play. JBU picked up a 66-55 win at Wayland Baptist (Texas) in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals before bowing out to eventual SAC champion Science & Arts (Okla.) in the semifinals, 88-83. Beschta’s squad returns All-SAC first teamer and honorable mention All-American Densier Carnes and last year’s SAC Defensive Player of the Year, senior Ira Perrier. A year removed from an All-America third team selection, senior Luke Harper earned SAC second-team accolades last season.
“As we head into next season returning such a strong and experienced team, we already have so much to be excited about,” Beschta said. “Each of the three student-athletes bring something different and needed to our team, and they will all make an immediate impact on our program.”
A three-year letterwinner at Tulsa’s Regent Preparatory School under former Siloam Springs coach head coach Kerwin Dees, the three-sport athlete (football, tennis) joins the Golden Eagles after a senior campaign that saw the 6-foot-8 big man average nearly a double-double per night, finishing the year with 15 points and nine boards per game. While setting the program’s single-season rebounding record, Camp helped the Rams capture a pair of regional championships. The Tulsa native set a single-game best in his senior season, scoring 22 points and adding 12 rebounds and three assists in one contest.
Guiot transfers to John Brown after a pair of seasons at Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Okla., under head coaches Ja Havens and Mark Downey. Over his two years with the RiverHawks, the 6-foot-1 guard played in 37 contests and averaged 2.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists a night. Guiot posted a personal best 12-point outing on 4-of-10 shooting from the floor versus Central Oklahoma on Feb. 21. He finished his sophomore campaign shooting 41 percent from the floor and 39 percent behind the arc. Before competing with Link Year Prep (Mo.), the Paragould native spent two seasons at Greene County Tech under head coach and father Jeff Guiot, where the standout earned back-to-back All-State honors. In his senior season, he poured in a career-best 48 points en route to averaging 21 points, four assists, four rebounds and nearly four steals per game as a senior while shooting 43 percent from long range.
From across the pond, Maitland comes to Siloam Springs after four seasons with the Reading Rockets of the National Basketball League (England and Wales) under head coach Alan Keane. In his final season with the Rockets, Maitland, a 6-foot-1 guard, averaged 10 minutes, 3.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in 10 games played. In 2018, the native Londoner earned the U16 Most Valuable Player honors and helped his squad to a conference title in 2017.