by Alex Schwartz

I caught up with Keith "Tiny" Gallon '09 of Oak Hill Academy (VA) Saturday, and we discussed his recruitment, his OHA squad, and much more. The big man is still favoring Oklahoma in his recruiting, but is still considering Cal as well. "Tiny" plans on making his decision in November, which is when the early signing period is. Although the Sooners have been Gallon's leader for a number of months, he says that the Golden Bears really do have a shot at landing him, so "Tiny" to OU is not a done deal. Despite that, Keith said that he will "most likely" commit to Jeff Capel and Co. and suit up in the Big 12.

A knock on "Tiny" for quite some time has been his weight. Although he is by no means svelte, he told me that he has "lost 20 pounds already" and is now sitting at 315. While Gallon will definitely need to continue shedding the extra weight, this is definitely a step in the right direction for the Oak Hill star. Today at 7:00pm people were able to see if a lighter Gallon means a better Gallon, as he told me that OHA is taking The Patterson School (NC) in a scrimmage. "We [are] going [to] be real, real, real, good," said Keith of how the Warriors are looking for the upcoming season. The squad has a new look, with many players such as Brandon Jennings '08 and Brian Oliver '09 leaving the school, either to due to graduation or transfer. The team did pick up some talented point guards in Lamont "MoMo" Jones '09 and Doron Lamb '10, two former New York standouts. It will be an interesting year for Steve Smith, as his team will be very different from how it was last year.

The most interesting part of my talk with "Tiny" was discussing the upcoming season with him and what he feels he will accomplish. "This [is] the year of the TINY!!!!" said the big man. He went on to say that he will be having some achievements like former OHA teammate Brandon Jennings, who is now playing overseas in Italy, specifically mentioning "winning the John Wooden Award and Naismith Award and averaging 35 [points, just] like him." Although that is certainly a bold prediction, "Tiny" went on to say much, much more. Gallon either heard or read about some comments that DeMarcus Cousins '09, a UAB-commit from LeFlore (AL), had made that were in SLAM Magazine, and he gave me his responses to them. "The stuff DeMarcus said, [that] he feels he [is] the best big man [in the class of 2009], I . . . feel I am the best player in 09. Period." The OHA center did not stop there though. I asked him what his relationship with Cousins and/or Favors was like, if existent at all: "I'm good friends with DeMarcus, but I really don't know Derrick. We [Oak Hill] play the both [LeFlore and South Atlanta (GA) respectively] on ESPN. These [are going to be] my numbers, I'm telling you early: 30 and 15." I asked Keith if he was talking about one of them or both, and he said, "Both, that's a promise." When I inquired of him if he had any more predictions, he responded by saying, "That's not a prediction. That's a promise." I asked him if he had anything else in general to add, to which he replied, "No, just put 'be ready for this season'." That led me to asking "Tiny" who specifically should be ready: "Everybody that said I can't do this or that."

Clearly Keith "Tiny" Gallon is a motivated big man. The Oak Hill Academy star, who will be deciding between Oklahoma and Cal in November as I previously mentioned, is definitely a player to look out for this season. The Warriors have a number of big-time matchups, including a showdown with St. Patrick's (NJ) at the Prime Time Shootout in January. Remember Gallon's bold promises, and look to see if he keeps his word.

Note- photo is from http://scouthoops.scout.com/.