Hoops News: Rivals.com has listed Zam Fredrick as committed to GaTech!!

Rivals.com has listed Zam Fredrick as committed to GaTech (although not official yet)! See his profile here. He is listed as by Rivals.com as the 126th best player in the country, the 23 best point guard, and the 20th best player in the Southeast. The Hive has him as the 21st best player, so it just goes to show you the range of opinions. Zam has a big body for a point guard 6'1", 210lb. He seems to be a real scorer is high school and comments lead me to believe he has outside range and a good ability to drive to the hoop. Sounds like a good scoring guard as Jack continues his development at the point. Remember that BJ Elder is a junior this year and don't count out the possibility that he could go pro after his junior year.

The other important fact is that Zam's close friend and teammate is Ra'Sean Dickey (Hive profile, Rivals profile), who is listed by the Hive as the 12th best player in the country and listed by Rivals.com as the 53rd best player in the country, 14th best power forward, and 14th best overall in the Southeast. Ra'Sean is 6'9", 255lb, and has been compared to Elton Brand. Many recruiters believe that Dickey will follow Zam to the same college. Wouldn't that be fantastic. Not only two talents, but two guys that have been balling together already.

Now, GaTech did drop out of the running for Jason Rich, an althelic player in high regard. Word was that we dropped out because of the impending commitment from Zam. While Jason was higher rated, he was being sought out by a lot of other programs and of course bringing in Zam might help us get Dickey. Lastly, the other guy at Tech this past weekend was Russell Robinson, another highly regarded scoring guard. Don't know how Zam's commit impacts Robinson but we will see. I'm sure this whole process is like a series of dominos that fall a piece at a time. As the higher ranked players commit, it creates a domino affect for the other guys. I'm sure the lower rated guys want to claim their spot and not get shut-out of their top school picks either, so each has to decide their best strategy on when to commit.

Another note - while we have mentioned Dwight Howard as the #1 prospect in high school and the possibility he may come to Tech, we all know he wouldn't stay more than a year. Sounds like he's ready for the NBA. The guy we might be better off with longer term is Howard's teammate,Randolph Morris, who is listed as the number 3 center in the country by the Hive. He also has quick NBA potential but maybe he would stay around for 2 years. Both these guys sound like they have mammoth potential and both are listed with GaTech as one of their top choices.

Zam was one of the two guys that were at the GaTech / Clemson football game this weekend (not exactly a showcase). If Hewitt has in fact grabbed Zam, and Dickey follows and then grabs a couple of the other high profile recruits he is after, this could be the best recruiting class at GaTech hoops in a long time. It seems to be shaping up well. Way to go Mr.Hewitt.

Last note: Tom Hammonds son, Tom Hammonds Jr, is interested in Tech, but it is not clear if he will even be offered a scholarship. With the current players Hewitt is vying for, it is doubtful he will offered one. He is 6'4", 175lb, not ranked in the top players, but looks like he could be a decent player. Maybe a walk-on if he likes Tech enough??? Although I'm sure there is another school that would offer him a scholarship.