by Alex Schwartz

Two Philadelphia-area players have made their college choices. A 2011 combo guard and a 2010 power forward both took their names off the board in the past few days, the former popping to a Big East school and the latter opting to go with an Ivy League program. John Johnson, a 6'1 combo guard from Girard College HS (PA), committed to Pitt and 6'7 power forward Dockery Walker '10 of Westtown School (PA) pledged to Brown.

I first heard of Johnson's commitment late Thursday afternoon. The big-time scorer has been on the scene for quite some time, and at one point was considered the best player in Philly's loaded class of 2011, though that honor now belongs to 6'9 Rakeem Christmas. Johnson, who led Girard College to a PIAA Class A state title this past season. John selected Pitt over schools such as Virginia Tech and La Salle, amongst many others.

Dockery Walker transferred to Westtown School, leaving his home in Delaware, for his junior year and helped the school have a quality year. The big man then used a strong summer at camps and at AAU tournaments to boost his stock. A strong student, Walker selected Brown over Northeastern, Boston University, Holy Cross, Vermont, UPenn, and Columbia. I learned of the commitment Saturday afternoon from a source close to the situation.

Again, John Johnson '11 has committed to Pitt and Dockery Walker '10 has selected Brown.