fsu just got a commit at 2:30 p.m. from...

i was assuming those were still his recruits.

if not, then, "crap."

see you in the acc championship game.

 

Orlando guard chooses FSU over Kentucky

Tallahassee Democrat (10/10/03)

Orlando Dr.Phillips shooting guard Jason Rich took Florida State off his recruiting list the first week in July.

Leonard Hamilton didn't get the message.

"Coach Hamilton stayed in my ear," Rich said. "He talked and kept talking. I listened to what he had to say. He made me a believer."

Join the club.

Rich became the latest disciple Thursday, passing up Tubby Smith and tradition-rich Kentucky to commit to the Seminoles. His announcement came three days after combo guard Isaiah Swann picked FSU over Connecticut, giving Hamilton two of the top 50 recruits in the country.

It's an amazing encore performance for the Seminoles, who landed the nation's top-ranked class for 2003.

"These guys are just amassing an incredible amount of talent in a program that in the last five years hasn't seen those kind of players come through," recruiting analyst Dave Telep said.

Rich averaged 22.8 points and 6.1 rebounds last season. Rivals ranked him as the No.7 shooting guard in the country.

"Location was not a factor," said Rich, who's originally from Pensacola. "I just felt that's where I could grow and become a better player. That's nothing against Kentucky because that's a fine university."

Kentucky was one of several high-profile schools that JUCO big man Diego Romero bypassed in favor of FSU last year. The 2003 class also included McDonald's All-America Von Wafer and Alexander Johnson.

The newcomers will try to help FSU post its first winning season since 1997-98, which was also the last time the Seminoles made the NCAA tournament. FSU went 14-15 last season in Hamilton's first year.

Rich also visited Southern California.

"He's a bit of a streaky shooter, but when he's on there's nobody in the country who's better than him," recruiting analyst Jamie Johnson said. "There are games when his shot is not dropping. But he knows that, and he gets to the hole and either gets the easy basket, gets to the foul line or kicks it to the open man. So he knows when his shot's not falling."

Telep likes Rich's intangibles.

"You're talking about a guy who's not only one of the top 50 high-school prospects in the country, but he's just an all-around good kid," Telep said. "From a basketball standpoint, he's a leader on the floor. He's been in situations where he's had to score, and he's been in instances where he had to come up with the defensive play."

Hamilton, of course, cannot comment until Rich signs a national letter of intent. The early signing period begins Nov.12.

Swann and Rich figure to be side by side for a long time in FSU's backcourt of the future. Swann is making the transition to primarily playing point guard at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va. Dr.Phillips coach Anthony Long said Rich, too, was attracted to FSU by assurances that there would be the opportunity for him to play some point guard down the line.

"Their staff did a wonderful job," Long said. "Stan Jones was great. They outworked everybody else."

 

From today's Louisville Courier-Journal, they're crying at UK!

UK loses guard to Florida State
Rich says he wants to put Seminoles' program 'on map'
By Michael Smith, Louisville Courier-Journal

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky lost out on one of its top recruiting targets yesterday when guard Jason Rich chose Florida State over the Wildcats.

The 6-foot-3 shooting guard from Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Fla., said he wants to join a program that is putting together its second straight top recruiting class.

The Seminoles, under second-year coach Leonard Hamilton, had what many analysts rated the best recruiting class in the nation a year ago, and with commitments this week from Rich and point guard Isaiah Swann, they've assembled their backcourt of the future.

"Coach Hamilton is recruiting good players, and he has the program on the right track," Rich said. "I saw this as a challenge to help put Florida State basketball on the map, and that was a challenge I wanted to answer."

Rich said there's nothing UK coach Tubby Smith could have done to change his mind.

"I had a great visit to Kentucky," he said. "The coaches were very genuine, and the players were cool, real funny. Like I told coach Smith, Kentucky has everything you could want, but I just felt like Florida State was the place I could grow more."

The Wildcats still expect to get a commitment from point guard Ramel Bradley within days, and they were hoping Rich would commit to form UK's backcourt of the future, but they couldn't lure him out of his home state.

He grew up in Pensacola, just a few hours away from Florida State's campus in Tallahassee, and moved to Orlando two years ago to attend Dr. Phillips. He had reduced his list of schools to UK and Florida State after visiting Lexington Sept.26-28.

Rich has been rated as one of the top shooting guards in the class of 2004, and Rivals.com has him ranked No.28 overall. He averaged 23 points, six rebounds and four assists last season.

Bradley, who plays point guard and shooting guard for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., said this week that he plans to make an announcement soon and that UK is "definitely my leader."

UK remains involved with several highly rated backcourt prospects, including Joe Crawford and Malik Hairston of Detroit, and also with 6-10 center Randolph Morris of Palmetto, Ga.

 

kick -- freakin -- ass.

coach ham rules.

 

Now that I can live with. It means we are there and dook isn't.

 

The ACC just keeps getting better. I like it too.

Hamilton is flat out getting it done in Tallahassee.

 

ACC - Top to bottom the best..... hopefully