Derrick Favors, the No. 1 big man in the Class of 2009, made his college announcement Wednesday night on ESPNU.
“I made my mind up and my decision is ….,” the 6-foot-9 Favors, an Atlanta native, said before putting on a black and gold Georgia Tech hat.
“I want my friends and family to come see me play, for however long I’ll be in college,” he added. “I thought about it long and hard, I made the right decision.”
Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt attended Favors’ game Tuesday night, when he dropped 30 points in a blowout, but Favors did not speak to him.
“I just wanted to mess with his head a little bit, make him think I wasn’t interested in him,” Favors said. “But I think deep down he probably knew I would come.”
Favors picked Georgia Tech over Georgia and N.C. State.
“All the schools were good choices for me but I thought about it long and hard and I think I made the right decision,” Favors said.
He joins an impressive recruiting class that includes point guard Mfon Udofia, power forward Kammeon Holsey, shooting guard Glen Rice Jr. and small forward Brian Oliver, who plays for the Paterson-NJ-based Playaz Basketball Club.
Paul Biancardi of ESPNU says Favors, the No. 2 player in the ESPNU 100, is a tremendous two-way player.
“Favors has the ability to dominate a game and make it look easy,” he said. “He’s a dominating player in the post. He’s aggressive in the low post. He catches the ball deep in the low post and demands double-teams. Surprisingly, he’s an excellent passer out of the low post. He’s added a solid 15-foot jumper to his offensive game but clearly his strength lies in and around the basket. Defensively, he challenges, changes and blocks shots. He cleans up the defensive glass. He reminds me of a young Alonzo Mourning, Amare-Stoudemire type player.”
