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| Wednesday, July 16 |
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| Basketball Recruiting Buzz By Jon Reidel SchoolSports.com | ||||||
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Citing a desire to explore his options in football as well as basketball, Westover High (Albany, Ga.) senior forward Greg Tinch says he will not sign a letter-of-intent with Seton Hall. Considered one of the top 25 seniors in the nation, the 6-foot-5 Tinch orally committed to Pirates coach Tommy Amaker two months ago and was expected to sign a letter-of-intent Friday (Nov. 10) at a press conference. But Tinch said Thursday during study hall at Westover that he started having second thoughts about his choice and now wants to wait until the spring to make a decision.
"I don't need to go there if I don't feel completely comfortable," Tinch told SchoolSports.com. "I still feel confused, so I've decided to wait until the spring to make a decision. I'd like to check out my options in both basketball and football." Westover assistant coach Dallas Smith, who played one year in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks, says there's no question that Tinch, who averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds per game last year for the 22-8 Patriots, could play on Sundays if he wants. Tinch used his 4.4 speed to catch 16 passes for 366 yards and five touchdowns last year for Westover's football team. He was considered one of the top receiver prospects in the Southeast and had all the big boys after him, including most Southeastern Conference schools and Florida State. But Tinch decided to focus exclusively on basketball and didn't play football this year. Since Seton Hall doesn't have a football team, the Pirates would seem out of the picture. Not so, according to Tinch, who has had extensive conversations with Amaker over the past few days. In Tinch's defense, he made it clear after his commitment to Seton Hall that he was still going to take his remaining visits. One of those visits was to Colorado. Tinch says the Buffalos are still in the picture, along with Seton Hall, Tennessee, Florida and Louisville, but he is basically re-opening the entire search to all comers. While Tinch remains in limbo, his high school teammate, highly coveted 7-foot-1 center Marcus Campbell, signed with Mississippi State. Campbell, who averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds per contest last season, said Clemson was a close second and that UNC-Charlotte, Auburn, Alabama, N.C. State and UMass were all on his final list. "Mississippi State recruited me the hardest," said Campbell. "I felt comfortable there on my visit." Around the same time Campbell signed, 6-foot-8 Travis Billings of cross-town rival Monroe High (Albany, Ga.) signed with Jacksonville State of the Trans-America Conference. Billings averaged eight points and nine rebounds per game last season for the Golden Tornadoes, who went 17-12 and advanced to the elite eight of the Class AAA state tournament. Tinch wasn't the only player to get cold feet come signing day. Maurice Williams of Jackson Murrah High (Jackson, Miss.) appeared to be lock for Alabama, but now may wait until spring to entertain other options. And East High (Duluth, Minn.) star forward Rick Rickert committed to Arizona in late October, but is now reconsidering Arizona and Minnesota.
Tidbits: Licorish's teammate at Mt. Zion, Lamar Grimes, committed to Indiana State. As a junior at Gage Park High in Illinois, Grimes averaged 24 points per game. ... Anthony Vasser, a 6-foot-7 forward from Woodlawn High (Birmingham, Ala.), committed to Georgia Tech over Auburn, Alabama and the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Vasser, who is ranked among the top 75 players in the country, averaged 14 points and six rebounds per game last year. ... Najeeb Echols, a 6-foot-6 forward from Morgan Park High in Chicago, orally committed to the University of Missouri on Wednesday, while 6-foot-4 Keith Langford of North Crowley High (Crowley, Texas) committed to Kansas. Both are considered top 75 players, and both will square off in the Big 12 beginning next season. ... Jamaal Williams, a 6-foot-6 forward from Centennial High (Corona, Calif.), orally committed to New Mexico. The Lobos are putting together a strong class, as 6-foot-11 Chad Bell of Westchester High (Los Angeles, Calif.) is also headed to New Mexico. ... In other recruiting news, Long Beach State signed 6-foot-5 Anthony Davis of Compton, Calif., and Florida State shocked Xavier and Dayton by landing 6-foot-9 Adam Waleskowski of Alter High (Kettering, Ohio).
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Material from SchoolSports.com.Visit their web site at www.schoolsports.com | |
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