Its official, Monteiro a Duke

Duquesne University head men's basketball coach Ron Everhart has announced the signing of guard/forward B.J. Monteiro (Waterbury, Conn./Crosby) (pronounced mon-TARE-o) to a National Letter of Intent.

The 6-5, 180-pound Monteiro - who was named Hartfod Courant State Player of the Year last week - is the first spring signee for the 2008-09 recruiting class.

Monteiro, who will have four years of eligibility, averaged 21.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.9 steals per game and blocked 56 shots in leading 26-1 Crosby to the 2008 Class LL state championship in 2007-08. A three-year starter at Crosby, Monteiro is rejoining former high school teammate, DU forward Damian Saunders, who earned a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team in his first season with the Dukes.

"B.J. is a great player with an outstanding work ethic," said Everhart. "He's the kind of player you can build around. One of the things that sets B.J. apart is the fact that he takes such great pride in doing what he can to make whatever team he is on successful - and that was evident this season with Crosby's state championship. Above all, B.J. is a great kid. He's one of the finest young men I've had the chance to meet."

Monteiro, who played under Nick Augelli at Crosby, finished his career as the all-time leading scorer in school history with 1,833 points, topping the old record of 1,494 in the 11th game of his senior season. Monteiro had 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists in Crosby's state title-clinching 82-79 win over Trinity Catholic-Stamford at the University of Connecticut's Gampel Pavilion. It was Crosby's first state title since 2004-05 when Saunders was a junior, and Monteiro a freshman. The `08 Crosby squad finished the year ranked No. 1 in the state by the Hartford Courant & New Haven Register.

Monteiro was the leading vote-getter on the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class LL all-state team and was also named New Haven Register All-State Boys' Basketball Most Valuable Player. Monteiro scored a team-high 24 points and added eight rebounds in leading Connecticut to a 114-102 overtime win over New Jersey in the 47th annual JCC Schoolboy Classic all-star game played at Bridgeport, Conn. on April 12.