Today is the beginning of the spring signing period, and Rider officially inked 6-7 forward Brandon Penn and 6-6 guard Novar Gadson to letters of intent. 

Penn and Gadson -- both from Philadelphia -- join Jermaine Jackson, a 6-8 forward from Reading, Pa., in the Broncs' class of 2008. 

Penn averaged 27.4 points and 16 rebounds this past season at Paul Robeson High School, while Gadson averaged 22.5 points, 12 rebounds and six assists at John Bartram High, where he broke the school scoring record previously held by Joe "Jelleybean" Bryant, the father of NBA MVP candidate Kobe Bryant. 

While the Broncs and many other teams were signing recruits, Marist was getting ready to sign a coach. 

According to multiple reports, the Red Foxes were finalizing a deal with Memphis assistant Jose "Chuck" Martin. 

Martin, who played at Monmouth when both Rider and Marist were in the Norhteast Conference, was an assistant under Bobby Gonzalez at Manhattan. 

And he has a more distant connection to the Fairfield program: he played at Saint Raymond's HIgh School in the Bronx, where Stags radio announcer John Cummings is on the faculty.