T.J. Warren is staying home.
A Raleigh, N.C. native rated the No. 6 small forward in the Class of 2012, Warren announced Wednesday for N.C. State over Georgetown.
The 6-foot-7 Brewster (N.H.) Academy wing joins fellow Raleigh native Rodney Purvis and Tyler Lewis of Statesville in coach Mark Gottfried’s 2012 class.
“I’m going to N.C. State,” Warren told Scout.com. “I feel like they are on the come up.
“I just want to go in there and help bring the excitement back to Raleigh, N.C.”
In nabbing three elite guards from the Tar Heel State, Gottfried is serving notice that he’s a player in the state.
“What a recruiting class they have if they get [Warren],” New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski said. “They have all the perimeter spots sewn up. They have as good of a perimeter recruiting class as anyone in the country.”
The Wolfpack are also still in play for 6-6 wing Andrew White, who said he’s weighing where to take his fifth official visit, and 6-7 Amile Jefferson, who is considering N.C. State among seven schools.
Warren also previously held offers from Florida and North Carolina, but the Heels reportedly wanted him to play power forward and last week secured a commitment from 6-9 Brice Johnson instead.
Warren’s preference was to play on the wing, and Konchalski thinks that will end up being his natural position.
“I think eventually he’s more of a wing player,” Konchalski said. “He can shoot 3’s very, very consistently and he can initiate plays off the dribble from the wing. He’s big enough that he can play closer to the basket so he’s a hybrid froward right now but I think eventually his position is a three.”
Warren broke out this summer when he scored 41 points against Lewis at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Raleigh and was named the MVP of that event.
“He was one of the real surprises of the spring,” Konchalski said. “He had a great game against Garner Roads.”
Warren’s Brewster Academy teammate Mitch McGary, a 6-10 power forward rated No. 1 at his position by Rivals, is set to announce Thursday for Michigan, Duke or Florida, but several media outlets have reported that McGary is likely headed to Michigan.
roth3nyk / November 3, 2011
I continue to be baffled by top recruits gambling their futures on coaches with no experience in getting recruits to be successful at the next level or even sometimes at the college level, especially when spots at programs with such coaches are so plentiful. Gottfried was coach at Alabama, how did that go for him? Ditto Ed Cooley at Fairfield. Good luck in the D-League or overseas TJ Warren, Rodney Purvis, Tyler Lewis, Ricky Ledo, and Kris Dunn.
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UofA BJ / November 3, 2011
Last time I checked coaches don’t make buckets
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