Thaddeus Young, welcome to the ATL

Thaddeus Young (6'8" SF from Memphis's Mitchell High - RCSI #6) verbally committed to the Georgia Institute of Technology this morning, and will be on the 2006-2007 edition of the Yellow Jackets.

This is an enormous decision, not only for Thad, but also for Georgia Tech basketball. Unlike Chris Bosh, who slid under the radar a bit until his senior season, Thad has been one of the dominant high school players in the country since his freshman year. As a 6'8" forward with a SG skillset, he's projected to have an immediate impact and is one of the highest rated players at any position (Rivals.com has him as the #3 rated senior in the country). Paul Hewitt was up against all the big names in college basketball, as well as the local draw of Memphis, but Thad decided to come live in Atlanta, go to school at an excellent academic institution and play some big time college hoops.

The 2007 Final Four is in Atlanta, and people are certainly going to be getting ahead of themselves a bit and looking forward to that date - but it's now a very attainable goal. Regardless of what happens then, the 2006-07 starting lineup of Crittenton, Clinch, Thad, Smith and Dickey is going to be one of the most talented in the country. Right now, we just gotta hope Larry Brown keeps his job with the Knicks for more than 2 years and Paul Hewitt stays in Atlanta. He's got a chance to continue building something very special here.

Also, over on the Georgia Sports Blog they were celebrating this year's UGA basketball recruiting class like it included the second coming of 'Nique. Last I checked, a couple of 4 star players who nobody had listed in the top 25 in the country isn't exactly ground breaking. Pups, you might want to check out Tech for an example on what real basketball recruiting looks like.