Not much normally happens in early June in college basketball.

Contrary to that trend were two pieces of news -- an assistant coach hiring and a recruit signing -- to come out of the Robert Morris University men's program yesterday.

Colonials head coach Mike Rice hired Robby Pridgen, who spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach at Division III Roanoke, to fill a vacancy created last month when assistant Levi Franklin left the program to take a high school head coaching job in the Washington, D.C. area. Pridgen is an Akron, Ohio, native, a 1997 graduate from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School who went on to play at Roanoke.

"Robby is an up-and-coming coach, and he proved to me he possesses a great amount of energy and enthusiasm for what he does," said Rice, whose program reached the NCAA tournament last season for the first time since 1992.

Robert Morris also signed Coron Williams, a 6-foot-2 guard from Christchurch School in Midlothian, Va., who will be a freshman in the fall.

Williams averaged 19.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 3.1 steals per game last year as a senior at Christchurch and was named to the All-Virginia Prep League first team.

"Pure and simple, Coron is a terrific shooter," Rice said. "He'll easily fit in with our style and will push for playing time right away."