SOUTH KINGTOWN -- Persistence has paid off for the URI men’s basketball team with the signing of a high-scoring guard from North Carolina.

Akeem Richmond, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound combo guard who scored a whopping 2,846 points in his four years at Southern Lee High in Sanford, N.C., said Thursday that he chose Rhode Island over Charlotte, South Florida and Western Kentucky because the URI coaches made him feel wanted more than any of the others.

"The coaches (assistant Kevin Clark and head coach Jim Baron) came down to three of my games and one of my practices," Richmond related by telephone. "They were very serious about me. They kept in contact with me. They told me what they were looking for and what they wanted me to do. I just felt like Rhode Island was the best place for me."

It also helped, he said, that when he made an official visit to campus -- he saw the Rams lose to Massachusetts in the regular-season finale -- that both the coaching staff and the players made him feel welcome.

"The players were nice. The coaches showed me all around. Coach Baron was cool," Richmond said.

Baron said his team made Richmond a priority.

"He’s a very good athlete who can score the ball, whether it’s off the dribble or shooting it from the perimeter," Baron said. "He’s a pressing-type guard. His team loved to press. He’ll fit right into our style."

The Rams, of course, ran and pressed all season, to the point where they were among the national leaders in scoring. They have a deep frontcourt returning, but needed more outside scoring. One scouting report on Richmond listed him as more of a scorer than a pure shooter, but Richmond does not agree.

"I shot 48 percent on threes this year," he said. "I love to shoot the three."

Richmond, who averaged 29.2 points in his senior year, said he enjoys playing both guard positions and does not have a preference of one spot over the other.

"I just want to play and help the team," he said.

The signing leaves URI with two available scholarships. One has been targeted for a European forward recruited by first-year assistant Momir Gajic. According to reports, though, the players involved still has to go through the NCAA clearinghouse, so nothing is likely to be settled for some time yet.

Baron said the team does not have a specific target, as far as position, for the remaining scholarship.

"We’d just like to get someone who would help make us a better team," he said.

pkenyon @projo.com