Signing Day Updates
by Alex Schwartz
Today is the first day of the early signing period for basketball players in the class of 2009 all across of the country. Many of the best ballers in the nation are off the board, though some of them are still unsigned and uncommitted. For the last five hours or so I've been working to get up to date on who has officially signed with their future schools, and have caught up with numerous players and quite a few other sources. Here is a recap, school by school, of what I have learned from all these people regarding the decisions of some of the best senior basketball players in America.
Bowling Green
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Falcons have officially signed Luke Kraus of Findlay (OH) and Danny McElroy of La Salle HS (OH).
Brown
The Ivy League does not actually use National Letters of Intent, but according to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Bears have verbal commitments from four players: 6'8 Andrew McCarthy, 6'8 Tucker Halpern, 6'5 Matt Sullivan, and 6'7 Tyler Ponticelli.
Delaware
Devon Saddler of Aberdeen (MD) has yet to officially sign with the Blue Hens. The guard told me that he "will sign this week or the next week." His reasoning? "My high school coach is getting the news and the paper." Devon did in form me that, "yes," he does still plan on going to the CAA school.
Florida
Kenny Boynton of American Heritage (FL) committed to the Gators just last week, picking Billy Donovan and Co. over a host of other suitors. Boynton let me know that he "did [sign] this morning." Erik Murphy of St. Mark's (MA) told me that he "signed [his NLI] at [about] 2:30." Murphy also shed some light on the third Florida-bound player in the class of 2009, Deshawn Painter: "He said he was going to [sign today, but] I haven't talked to him today."
George Mason
Paris Bennett of St. Patrick's (NJ) informed me that he "did already" sign his NLI, but he was unsure if the other players committed to George Mason had signed the dotted line.
Georgia Tech
Mfon Udofia gave me word that his "mom is out of town, so [he is going to sign] when she gets back," adding that he will do so on "November 18." As for the other future Yellow Jackets, Udofia was "not sure" if that had made things official yet.
Hofstra
Paul Bilbo of St. Dominic's (NY) let me know that he "signed today." He was unsure as to whether or not fellow Pride commits had signed their NLIs yet.
Illinois
Findlay College Prep (NV) Assistant Coach Todd Simon has informed me that DJ Richardson has signed an NLI to play for Illinois.
Iona
I learned from source with knowledge of the situation that the Gaels have officially signed Chris Pelcher.
Kent State
A source with knowledge of the situation has informed me that the Golden Flashes have the signatures of Randal Holt, Rob Johnson, and Greg Avila.
La Salle
Two sources with knowledge of the situation gave me a heads up that the Explorers have officially signed Aaric Murray of Glen Mills (PA), one of the best players in America. Murray is the lone signee for La Salle thus far.
Maryland
Jordan Williams of Torrington (CT) told me that he is "signing tomorrow at 3pm." He was unsure of the Terrapins' other commits have signed.
Memphis
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the only NLI the Tigers have gotten thus far is from Nolan Dennis
Miami
A source with knowledge of the situation has given me word that the Hurricanes have inked Garrius Adams and Donnavan Kirk.
Michigan
Darius Morris let me know that he "did sign today" with the Wolverines.
Michigan State
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Spartans have received signatures from 6'10 Garrick Sherman and 6'9 Derrick Nix.
Navy
Montez Blair of Timber Creek (NJ) will not be signing his NLI "until April," as his high school coach told him to just stay verbally committed for now. Blair did say that, "yes," he does still plan on signing with Navy.
Niagara
Andre "Scooter" Gillette committed to the Purple Eagles just last night, and therefore his signing will not happen until tonight. "My papers [have] just been mailed to my house. I will sign them as I get home," adding, "Most likely they will be mailed back tomorrow." Gillette said this abut why he picked the MAAC school: "Well, at the time [there] was no better place for me, and I know how much they wanted me, so I felt as though it was the right move to make."
Oklahoma
Kyle Hardrick, who is now at Putnam City (OK) and has been committed to the Sooners since his freshman year of high school, said through a text message that he "signed at 11:30 today." He added, "I know Tommy [Mason-Griffin] did [sign too]."
Rice
Tamir Jackson of St. Benedict's (NJ) informed me that he will be signing "Saturday at [his] party." He did not know if his fellow future Owls had sealed the deal yet.
St. John's
Omari Lawrence, formerly of St. Raymond's (NY) and now at South Kent (CT), said through a text message that he "will [sign] tomorrow." Lawrence did not know if Malik Stith had made it official with the Red Storm yet.
St. Joseph's
According to a pair of sources with knowledge of the situation, the Hawks are not doing NLIs until Friday and Carl Jones, Justin Crosgile, and Carl Baptiste are all expected to send in their NLIs this week.
Texas
According to Findlay College Prep (NV) Assistant Coach Todd Simon, Avery Bradley has officially signed with the Longhorns.
Towson
A source with knowledge of the situation told me that the Tigers have yet to receive their NLIs back yet, but I caught up with three of their commits, Erique Gumbs of Caravel Academy (DE), Will Adams of Imhotep Charter (PA), and Isaiah Philmore of John Carroll (MD) as well. Gumbs said through text message, "Yes I did [sign today]!!" Adams let me know that he will sign Friday, as he is yet to actually receive the official NLI papers. Philmore let me know that he "did [sign] today" as well.
UMBC
Adrian Satchell of Windsor (CT) said the following via text message about what he will being doing for his signing: "I have three copies. I signed two already and I'm sending them back tomorrow, and I'm going to sign the last one in front of a group of people." He let me that this will happen "next Tuesday [November 18] at Windsor High School."
UNLV
Findlay College Prep (NV) Assistant Coach Todd Simon let me know that Carlos Lopez has signed the dotted line to head to UNLV.
Villanova
Maalik Wayns of Roman Catholic (PA) gave me word that he "signed today." Regarding Mouphtaou Yarou and Isaiah Armwood, teammates at Montrose Christian (MD) who are also committed to the Wildcats, Wayns said the following: "I'm not [entirely] sure about them, but I'm pretty sure they did [sign]."
West Virginia
Dalton Pepper of Pennsbury (PA) let me know that he has "signed today" with the Mountaineers. He added that he thinks both Dan Jennings and Deniz Kilicli have inked their NLIs, but he was not 100% sure, and did not what fellow WVU-commit Roscoe Davis was up to regarding his signing.
I will have more information posted tomorrow and/or Friday, so stay tuned.
Today is the first day of the early signing period for basketball players in the class of 2009 all across of the country. Many of the best ballers in the nation are off the board, though some of them are still unsigned and uncommitted. For the last five hours or so I've been working to get up to date on who has officially signed with their future schools, and have caught up with numerous players and quite a few other sources. Here is a recap, school by school, of what I have learned from all these people regarding the decisions of some of the best senior basketball players in America.
Bowling Green
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Falcons have officially signed Luke Kraus of Findlay (OH) and Danny McElroy of La Salle HS (OH).
Brown
The Ivy League does not actually use National Letters of Intent, but according to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Bears have verbal commitments from four players: 6'8 Andrew McCarthy, 6'8 Tucker Halpern, 6'5 Matt Sullivan, and 6'7 Tyler Ponticelli.
Delaware
Devon Saddler of Aberdeen (MD) has yet to officially sign with the Blue Hens. The guard told me that he "will sign this week or the next week." His reasoning? "My high school coach is getting the news and the paper." Devon did in form me that, "yes," he does still plan on going to the CAA school.
Florida
Kenny Boynton of American Heritage (FL) committed to the Gators just last week, picking Billy Donovan and Co. over a host of other suitors. Boynton let me know that he "did [sign] this morning." Erik Murphy of St. Mark's (MA) told me that he "signed [his NLI] at [about] 2:30." Murphy also shed some light on the third Florida-bound player in the class of 2009, Deshawn Painter: "He said he was going to [sign today, but] I haven't talked to him today."
George Mason
Paris Bennett of St. Patrick's (NJ) informed me that he "did already" sign his NLI, but he was unsure if the other players committed to George Mason had signed the dotted line.
Georgia Tech
Mfon Udofia gave me word that his "mom is out of town, so [he is going to sign] when she gets back," adding that he will do so on "November 18." As for the other future Yellow Jackets, Udofia was "not sure" if that had made things official yet.
Hofstra
Paul Bilbo of St. Dominic's (NY) let me know that he "signed today." He was unsure as to whether or not fellow Pride commits had signed their NLIs yet.
Illinois
Findlay College Prep (NV) Assistant Coach Todd Simon has informed me that DJ Richardson has signed an NLI to play for Illinois.
Iona
I learned from source with knowledge of the situation that the Gaels have officially signed Chris Pelcher.
Kent State
A source with knowledge of the situation has informed me that the Golden Flashes have the signatures of Randal Holt, Rob Johnson, and Greg Avila.
La Salle
Two sources with knowledge of the situation gave me a heads up that the Explorers have officially signed Aaric Murray of Glen Mills (PA), one of the best players in America. Murray is the lone signee for La Salle thus far.
Maryland
Jordan Williams of Torrington (CT) told me that he is "signing tomorrow at 3pm." He was unsure of the Terrapins' other commits have signed.
Memphis
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the only NLI the Tigers have gotten thus far is from Nolan Dennis
Miami
A source with knowledge of the situation has given me word that the Hurricanes have inked Garrius Adams and Donnavan Kirk.
Michigan
Darius Morris let me know that he "did sign today" with the Wolverines.
Michigan State
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Spartans have received signatures from 6'10 Garrick Sherman and 6'9 Derrick Nix.
Navy
Montez Blair of Timber Creek (NJ) will not be signing his NLI "until April," as his high school coach told him to just stay verbally committed for now. Blair did say that, "yes," he does still plan on signing with Navy.
Niagara
Andre "Scooter" Gillette committed to the Purple Eagles just last night, and therefore his signing will not happen until tonight. "My papers [have] just been mailed to my house. I will sign them as I get home," adding, "Most likely they will be mailed back tomorrow." Gillette said this abut why he picked the MAAC school: "Well, at the time [there] was no better place for me, and I know how much they wanted me, so I felt as though it was the right move to make."
Oklahoma
Kyle Hardrick, who is now at Putnam City (OK) and has been committed to the Sooners since his freshman year of high school, said through a text message that he "signed at 11:30 today." He added, "I know Tommy [Mason-Griffin] did [sign too]."
Rice
Tamir Jackson of St. Benedict's (NJ) informed me that he will be signing "Saturday at [his] party." He did not know if his fellow future Owls had sealed the deal yet.
St. John's
Omari Lawrence, formerly of St. Raymond's (NY) and now at South Kent (CT), said through a text message that he "will [sign] tomorrow." Lawrence did not know if Malik Stith had made it official with the Red Storm yet.
St. Joseph's
According to a pair of sources with knowledge of the situation, the Hawks are not doing NLIs until Friday and Carl Jones, Justin Crosgile, and Carl Baptiste are all expected to send in their NLIs this week.
Texas
According to Findlay College Prep (NV) Assistant Coach Todd Simon, Avery Bradley has officially signed with the Longhorns.
Towson
A source with knowledge of the situation told me that the Tigers have yet to receive their NLIs back yet, but I caught up with three of their commits, Erique Gumbs of Caravel Academy (DE), Will Adams of Imhotep Charter (PA), and Isaiah Philmore of John Carroll (MD) as well. Gumbs said through text message, "Yes I did [sign today]!!" Adams let me know that he will sign Friday, as he is yet to actually receive the official NLI papers. Philmore let me know that he "did [sign] today" as well.
UMBC
Adrian Satchell of Windsor (CT) said the following via text message about what he will being doing for his signing: "I have three copies. I signed two already and I'm sending them back tomorrow, and I'm going to sign the last one in front of a group of people." He let me that this will happen "next Tuesday [November 18] at Windsor High School."
UNLV
Findlay College Prep (NV) Assistant Coach Todd Simon let me know that Carlos Lopez has signed the dotted line to head to UNLV.
Villanova
Maalik Wayns of Roman Catholic (PA) gave me word that he "signed today." Regarding Mouphtaou Yarou and Isaiah Armwood, teammates at Montrose Christian (MD) who are also committed to the Wildcats, Wayns said the following: "I'm not [entirely] sure about them, but I'm pretty sure they did [sign]."
West Virginia
Dalton Pepper of Pennsbury (PA) let me know that he has "signed today" with the Mountaineers. He added that he thinks both Dan Jennings and Deniz Kilicli have inked their NLIs, but he was not 100% sure, and did not what fellow WVU-commit Roscoe Davis was up to regarding his signing.
I will have more information posted tomorrow and/or Friday, so stay tuned.
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