Lacy to Providence; Dixon to Seton Hall

Providence continued to land quality players when it secured a commitment Wednesday from 5-foot-10, 160-pound point guard Johnnie Lacy of Notre Dame Prep.

Lacy, the No. 18 point guard in the Class of 2009 according to Rivals, chose the Friars over Tennessee, Texas and Pitt, Notre Dame coach Ryan Hurd said.

“We’re excited about his future at Providence,” Hurd said by phone. “We think there’s an opportunity for him to have a great career there. He chose Providence because of his level of comfort with Keno [Davis]. That made it an obvious decision for him.

“He wasn’t going to sign early, but he decided over the last few days that Providence was the place for him.”

A Milwaukee native, Lacy is averaging 16 points and 6 assists for Notre Dame Prep, No. 4 in the National Prep Poll.

“He’s playing out of his mind,” Hurd said. “He’s a tremendous point guard. He can shoot, drive, he does it all smoothly. He can hawk the ball the entire length of the court. He makes miserable. He’s untrappable.”

Davis’ first recruiting class at Providence includes big man James Still, wing Kyle Wright, big man Kadeem Batts and wing Duke Mondy.

Hurd said Antoine Allen, another guard out of Notre Dame, is also verbally committed to Providence but he will sign in the spring.

In other news from Notre Dame Prep, Cincinnati commit Sean Kilpatrick of White Plains, N.Y. lit up New Hampton (N.H.) for 29 points on 7-of-12 shooting from 3-point land.

DIXON TO SETON HALL

Seton Hall also reportedly received a verbal commitment from 6-10, 215-pound power forward Cliff Dixon from Hutchinson (KS) Community College.

Dixon has yet to sign, although today was the final day of the early signing period. He could still sign in the next few weeks.

The half-brother of Kevin Durant, the former Texas star and last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year, Dixon is the first commit for Seton Hall in the Class of 2009.

Dixon is averaging 15.9 points and 7.1 rebounds through eight games for Hutchinson, which is 7-1. He is shooting 51 percent from the floor and 65 percent from the stripe. Yet he is currently serving an indefinite suspension for “conduct detrimental to the team.”