by Alex Schwartz

As I recently wrote, it was reported by NJHoops that David Laury '09 of The Nia School (NJ) had committed to Western Kentucky. Last night and this afternoon I caught up with the talented 6'7 wing via text message to discuss his choice. Laury, who said he "committed on a visit," informed me that his other finalists were Oklahoma State, Central Florida, Virginia Commonwealth, Iona, and New Mexico State.So why did David pick the Hilltoppers? "Just the atmosphere. It's [in a] basketball state, and the fans bring that mindset to every game." Laury is a big recruiting coup for WKU, which is also involved with some talented Garden State sophomores such as Kelvin Amayo of St. Benedict's (NJ) and Derrick Gordon of St. Patrick's (NJ).

Speaking of New Jersey, ZagsBlog has reported that superstar Dominic Cheek '09 St. Anthony's will make his college decision on Friday. Although the 6'6 wing is considering five schools, it is likely a two horse race for his services between Kansas and Villanova, though Rutgers, Pitt, and Memphis do still have an outside chance. Rivals is reporting that Cheek will likely be picking Villanova, which is what Northstar Basketball recently projected. The Wildcats' class of 2009 already includes power forwards Mouphtaou Yarou and Isaiah Armwood of Montrose Christian (MD) as well as point guard Maalik Wayns of Roman Catholic (PA). James Bell '10, a wing who goes to school in Florida but is from the Northeast, has also verbally committed to the Big East power.