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Coach Hewitt was very pleased getting ink to paper for PF Gani Lawal, wing player Lance Storrs and PG Maurice Miller.
"This group fits every need that we identified going into this recruiting season," said Hewitt. "We identified Gani very early, and we watched Lance grow as a player. Mo Miller, after seeing him last January, became a major priority for us."
Coach Hewitt on Gani Lawal:
"Gani is a very important young man for the future of Georgia Tech basketball," said Hewitt. "Not only is he an outstanding talent, but he's also shown us through his academic work and how he conducts himself in the court that he can be one of the future leaders of this program."
Coach on Mo Miller:
"He's a throwback point guard who plays for a former college coach, Jimmy Adams, who does a great job at Raleigh Egypt High School," said Hewitt. "Mo is a very smart player, an excellent passer, and really knows how to run a team."
Coach on Lance Storrs:
"He's a shooter with size," Hewitt said. "I've always been very comfortable coaching big perimeter players, and Lance fits into that mold. He is also an honor student who should excel at Georgia Tech."
Found this great article on Mo Miller. Check out a couple of the quotes:
"I'm not the only Moe Miller in this world that can pick up a ball, shoot, score and dribble and stuff like that. It comes down to grades. Grades are going to separate you from the next kid, wherever he is. Nine times out of 10, kids really don't stress their grades these days until they're in like the 12th grade, when it's too late.""I feel like I'm ready (for college). I've matured. I'm young, but I think on a whole other level. There's a lot of stuff I have to accomplish. My goals aren't even halfway complete yet. I've got to keep working hard and keep my grades up, and that's what's most important."
"If we can't hold this young man up as a model in the community, there isn't a model left," a rightfully boasting Head Coach Adams said. "This is a young man with a 4.6 grade-point average. He's never had any problems. He doesn't have any character flaws."
I think it's fair to say this class is another foundation class, brinhing in guys who are excellent athletes, high character guys and real team players. They are all from winning teams, which of course they all played a part, and they each fit a strong need on the team.
Lawal is a powerful inside presence who is a non-stop motor kind of guy. He's a bit blue collar workhorse and a bit of a solid offensive post-presence. I expect Lawal to compete for playing time early and quickly. Should make for interesting battles between Lawal, Dickey, Peacock, Faye, Smith, Aminu and Sheehan. Think about that for a minute. Storrs is an excellent outside shooter used to taking critical shots in critical situations, and is a real glue guy who just wants to win. Kind of a more physical Marvin Lewis. Miller is a traditional point guard, not quite as physical as a Javaris Crittenton or Jarrett Jack, but very smart on the court and knows how to lead a team to victory. The key with Miller is that he is a guy that wants to learn and has no problem backing up Javaris Crittenton for a season or two depending on how long he plays college ball.
Coach Hewitt said - he filled needs. He got a PG to back-up JC and take over when he's gone. He vowed never to have the dreaded Jarrett Jack NBA / Austin Jackson MLB situation crop up again. Miller is future investment #1 - showing that Coach can land a highly recruited PG who isn't expecting to come in a play from day 1 even though he could................ Storrs is a good wing player and can play multiple positions.............. Lawal is a physical, athletic post presence who can have a real impact on the program. A PG, a wing and a big. A nice haul considering only Mario West is slated to ride off into the sunset next season.
Rivals lists this class as #24 in the nation and that sounds about right. Of course we know how important rankings are right?
Welcome aboard gets. GO JACKETS!!!!!!
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If that wasn't impressive enough, the lady Jackets did one better - they signed a top 10 class, including two of the nation's top 20 players, both 5-stars. Anybody with a nickname "mini-Barkley" is ok in my book.
The Georgia Tech women's basketball program added four exceptional athletes to their roster Wednesday ending a very successful recruiting season. Alex Montgomery, a six-foot-one forward from Tacoma, Wash. joins New Jersey's Iasia Hemingway, Atlanta's own Shaday Woolcock and Deja Foster from Memphis, Tenn. as Tech's eighth ranked 2007 recruiting class.