By Jim Halley, USA TODAY
Special to MaxPreps.com
Wake Forest signed three top-25 players in rivals.com's basketball rankings, just 2« months after Demon Deacons coach Skip Prosser, 56, died of a heart attack.
"First and foremost, all the credit goes to Skip," said Dino Gaudio, Prosser's longtime assistant and now the head coach at Wake Forest. "He did an incredible job recruiting those guys and getting them to make verbal commitments to Wake Forest."
The three players, 6-foot-8 small forward Al-Farouq Aminu from Norcross (Ga.), 6-10 center Tony Woods from Rome (Ga.) and 6-11 center Ty Walker from New Hanover (Wilmington, N.C.), will complement a team of two juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen.
"With the guys we have here now coupled with those guys coming in, it provides an opportunity for us to win ACC championships and hopefully make a run to the Final Four - if they can overcome the coaching," Gaudio said.
"(Aminu is) as diverse as player as is out there in the '08 class. He can shoot the three; he can put the ball on the floor. He can post up at 6-8."
While Gaudio saw Woods adding muscle underneath, Walker could alter opponents' offenses.
"I don't know if I've seen a high school kid who can affect a game on the defensive floor (as Walker can) with his shot-blocking ability."
Blue Blood
It was a big signing class Wednesday for the offspring of former NBA players, particularly at North Carolina. The Tar Heels signed two sons of longtime NBA players - Ed Davis, a 6-8 power forward at Benedictine High School in Richmond, Va., and Larry Drew Jr., a 6-0 point guard from Taft High in Woodland Hills, Calif.
Davis, ranked No. 9 overall by scout.com and No. 20 by rivals.com, is the son of Terry Davis, who played 12 years in the NBA from 1989 to 2001 with the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards and Denver Nuggets.
"He's an aggressive player, which is exactly what coaches are looking for, including us," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "He can score but he understands the concept of team ball."
Larry Drew Sr. played 10 seasons in the NBA from 1980-90 with the Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Kansas City and Sacramento Kings, and the Clippers and Lakers in Los Angeles. His son is ranked No. 76 overall and sixth among point guards by scout.com.
Other top recruits with an NBA pedigree:
* Ralph Sampson III, a 6-11 forward from Northview High (Duluth, Ga.), and son of four-time NBA All-Star center Ralph Sampson, is expected to sign with Minnesota next week.
* Renaldo Woolridge, the son of 13-year NBA veteran Orlando Woolridge, signed with Tennessee on Wednesday. The younger Woolridge, a 6-8 wing, averaged 19.2 points and 7.9 rebounds last season at Harvard-Westlake High (North Hollywood, Calif.).
"Renaldo has a tremendous upside and provides us with great flexibility," Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said.
Singleton Sweepstakes
Florida State pulled off the biggest coup of the day, signing Chris Singleton, a 6-8 forward from Dunwoody (Ga.), one of the few top players to not make a verbal commitment leading up to the signing period.
He had narrowed his choices to FSU and Kentucky, but FSU may have gotten a leg up when it also signed Singleton's Dunwoody teammate and close friend, Pierre Jordan, a 6-foot guard.
"Florida State is getting two quality basketball players in Pierre Jordan and Chris Singleton," Dunwoody coach Scott Bracco said. "Both players bring a great deal of enthusiasm to the basketball court."
Contributing: Thomas O'Toole
