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The commitment of Cady Lalanne was huge for coach Fox and staff. Lalanne, a 6′9″ 215 pound rapidly improving prospect out of Oak Ridge High School in Orlando, is a star waiting to happen in Fox’s system. Fox has a history of developing players, and Lalanne reminds you of Javale Mcgee, who Fox coached into a first round draft pick. This guy may only be ranked No. 142 in the country, but this reminds you so much of the forwards that Fox loves – long, wiry athletic post players. Lalanne says he is trying to put on weight, and he is a very good rebounder, averaging 14 rebounds per game last year, along with 17 points per game. His offensive game is rapidly improving though, as he played well for the Florida Rams on the AAU circuit this spring and summer.
At SEC Basketball Media Day two weeks ago, Fox had this to say about Mcgee: ”Javale Mcgee, I watched him play a game in the summer, and he scored one basket. But I thought he could touch the top of the backboard, so I tought he could be a great shot blocker and two years later he’s drafted.”
Along with how well I think Lalanne fits into the system and Coach Fox’s history of developing post players like him, this commitment solidifies the post, with Trey being a realistic candidate to leave after this season if he plays as expected by his selection to the Preseason 2nd team All-SEC. Then throw in the fact that Albert is graduating, and Price and Barnes graduate after next season, and Fox desperately needed a big man. He got the one he wanted, too – a late bloomer with loads of potential.
Georgia is also fighting hard for a Shawn Kemp Jr. commit, with assistant coach Philip Pearson leading the Dogs effort. This commitment would be almost identical to the Lalanne commit. A really athletic late bloomer with loads of talent, just starting to develop his game, and needing the coaching of Fox and staff. It will be interesting to see if they don’t get Shawn Kemp if they go after Donte Williams of Miller Grove in Lithonia, again or not. You have to think Fox feels good about his chances with Kemp Jr., considering Kemp Jr., out of Cherokee High School in Canton, signed with Alabama and Coach Pearson out of high school, who is now on Fox’s staff at his home-state school. Kemp failed to qualify though and was forced to prep at Hargrave Military Academy. With Gottfried resigning and Anthony Grant becoming coach, he reopened his recruitment. In addition, in high school, Kemp Jr. was down to Nevada, Alabama, and Washington for his commitment, so Fox nearly signed him in high school. Pearson and Fox are now at Georgia, battling together against Arkansas and Auburn at this point for his commitment, neither of which have a better program than the Dogs at this point in my opinion. Therefore, you have to love the Dogs chances of signing Kemp Jr.
One point I want to make about Fox’s recruiting that I think people continue to forget. Fox got a top-25 post player in Luke Babbitt at NEVADA! A top-25 post player went to play in the WAC over offers from UCLA, Arizona, Syracuse, Ohio State, Washington, USC, UNLV, etc. You get the picture. That is not to be understated in my opinion. If he can convince a guy like that to come to Nevada, he should be able to convince some to come play in the SEC.
Fox was hired too late in the process for the 2010 class for anyone to possibly expect him to have signed one of the top in-state players as most of them had already decided or were already so far in the game it would have been nearly impossible to recover all the ground. It is not to be underestimated the detrimental effect of getting in the game late, especially with the sorry record Fox inherited.
The key to recruiting for Georgia, at this point, in my opinion, is a noticeable improvement in the program this year, and as much as it is unfair to put expectations on a player, Trey Thompkins needs to have big production this year, showing growth and development under Fox. If the Dogs could win 17-20 games, you’ll see a lot more recruits take notice because Fox can now say not only did I win at Nevada, but his first squad at Georgia showed great improvement despite losing their top scorer – Terrence Woodbury – from a year ago.
Bottom line: don’t start to evaluate Fox’s recruiting until the class of 2011 has all panned out because that will be his first realistic shot to secure a decent class, with proper time to have focused on it.
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