by Alex Schwartz

There had been rampant speculation over the past week or so that Devin Langford of Lee (AL), one of the top unsigned players in the class of 2011, would commit to Illinois. In fact, there were even reports that he had given his verbal pledge.

Well, on Thursday, Evan Daniels of Scout reported that Langford had finally made his commitment to the Fighting Illini. Langford is a 6'6 small forward and one of the top players in the state of Alabama. His cousin, Josh Langford, is a freshman at Auburn.

Langford is the fifth member of Bruce Weber's class of 2011, but just the first from outside the state of Illinois. Illinois' class is ranked number two in the Big Ten and number 12 in the nation.

The other members of the class are 6'1 point guard Tracy Abrams of Mount Carmel (IL), 6'5 shooting guard Mychael Henry of Orr Academy (IL), 6'8 power forward Mike Shaw of De La Salle (IL), and 6'10 center Nnanna Egwu of St. Ignatius College Prep (IL). Abrams, Henry, and Shaw check in at 44, 66, and 72 respectively in the NBE Post-Summer Class of 2011 Top 150.

In other news, Perry Ellis of Wichita Heights (KS) is getting closer to a college decision. Ellis, a 6'7 power forward is ranked #18 in the NBE Post-Summer Class of 2012 Top 50. According to his mother, Fonda Ellis, the Jayhawk State star is down to just a half dozen schools.

Kansas, Kentucky, Kansas State, Memphis, Wichita State, and Oklahoma are the final six schools on the list for Ellis, two-time defending Gatorade State Player of the Year in Kansas. There is a distinct family connection to Memphis, as his older sister is currently on the Tigers' women's basketball team.

In addition to those six schools, Ellis, a phenomenal student, also holds offers from Texas A&M, Wake Forest, Iowa, Stanford, Georgetown, and UCLA. Schools that were showing interest were North Carolina, Oklahoma State, UNLV, Miami, Wisconsin, Louisville, Ohio State, Yale, Tennessee, and Marquette.

Note- photos are from http://scouthoops.scout.com/