In a Christmas Day shocker, Ricky Ledo committed to Providence.
“Yes,” the 6-foot-6, 188-pound Ledo, the No. 2 shooting guard in the Class of 2012, said by phone.
Ledo initially Tweeted his decision.
“I thought it was a good fit,” he added by phone. “The coaches and I just know I’ve got the opportunity to start from day one.”
Ledo is a Providence native who transferred to South Kent (Conn.) from St. Andrew’s School in Barrington, R.I.
Asked what he’ll bring to the school, Ledo said, “A scorer, come in and score the ball . Make my teammates better.”
Asked if it felt good to have the recruiting process over with, Ledo said, “It feels good, yeah.”
A source close to the Providence program said, “Hopefully this will put Providence back on the map.”
Kentucky, Louisville, Duke, West Virginia, UConn, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Villanova, Kansas, Florida, Providence and UCLA were among the schools involved with Ledo.
Ledo had slated visits to Kentucky and Louisville later this month. He said he still may take those visits.
“I don’t know yet,” he said.
Todd Quarles, Ledo’s coach with the Expressions Elite AAU team, recently praised Ledo’s potential.
“I think offensively, he’s the most talented person in the country in his class and as he gets stronger and learns to play with more intensity I just think the sky’s the limit for him,” he said.
“He can create his own shot. He has pro size at 6-6. He has length . He has athleticism. As he gets stronger and gets more experience, the sky’s the limit for him.”
South Kent coach Kelvin Jefferson sees Ledo every day and recently echoed Quarles’ comments.
“Ricky is really good,” Jefferson said. “He is a talented player. He can really score. He can shoot the ball. He has NBA range. He can create offense off the dribble. He could be a really good defender when he wants to be.
“He’s just a pure scorer. He just knows how to score. He can put the ball in the basket, has a knack for it.”
