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Seminoles Basketball Gets Biggest Catch

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By SCOTT CARTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 15, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - A good recruiting class for Florida State men's basketball coach Leonard Hamilton turned possibly great when highly coveted 6-foot-8 forward Chris Singleton opted to put on the FSU cap instead of the Kentucky one.

Singleton, of Dunwoody (Ga.) High, remained the highest-ranked recruit in the nation (ESPN.com ranks him No. 30 overall) yet to make a commitment prior to Wednesday's news conference at Dunwoody to announce his decision. The moment Singleton tucked the FSU hat over his head, Hamilton's 2008 recruiting class had its biggest catch.

"Chris is a tremendous athlete who creates huge mismatch problems," Dunwoody coach Scott Bracco said. "He does a great job playing on the perimeter and is a very good shooter."

Singleton had narrowed his choices to FSU and Kentucky by Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period. His decision to sign with FSU means Singleton will play at FSU along with current Dunwoody teammate Pierre Jordan, a point guard who recently verbally committed to the Noles.

Jordan, Singleton, Clearwater High guard Luke Loucks and Dothan (Ala.) Northview power forward Xavier Gibson all signed letter-of-intents Wednesday, giving Hamilton what some believe is a national Top 20 recruiting class.

The Noles also have a verbal commitment from 6-4 shooting guard Deividas Dulkys of Findlay Prep near Las Vegas, but as of Wednesday night had not received a signed letter-of-intent.

"Individually, they are all very talented players who are team-oriented and who will fit in well with our current players," Hamilton said. "Collectively, they are a group who will work together well and help us raise the level of play on our team and help us continue to achieve our goal of becoming a program of significance on the national level."

FLORIDA CLASS TRICKLING IN: By the time the signing period ends, Florida should have five signees, including 6-10 Bradenton IMG Academy center Kenny Kadji and 6-10 Hollywood American Heritage forward Eloy Vargas, but don't expect an official announcement from the Gators until later in the week or early next week when all five class members have sent in their letters-of-intent.

As of Wednesday, Florida had a letter-of-intent from Middle Village, N.Y., point guard Erving Walker.

Andy Staples

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