Georgia Tech edges out archrival UGA for Atlanta basketball star (UPDATED)
Georgia Tech edged out archival Georgia for one of the state’s top basketball prospects on Thursday.
Milton High’s Julian Royal committed to the Yellow Jackets over the Bulldogs in front about 150 students and supporters at the school gym.
“It was so close,” Royal said. “If I could go to both schools, I would. It’s just that I woke up [Thursday] morning with the feeling that I needed to go to Georgia Tech. That’s where my heart led me to go.”
The 6-foot-9 power forward said he will sign with Georgia Tech on Nov. 10. He showed up for the ceremony in a blue suit, and then whipped out a Yellow Jackets baseball cap to put on his head.
“I picked Georgia Tech because of the feeling of being in Atlanta,” Royal said. “I’ve been at basketball camps for years at Georgia Tech, so there’s a comfort zone there for me.”
It was a big win for the Yellow Jackets, where Royal is expected to compete for immediate playing time. Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt made it repeatedly known to Royal that he was the No. 1 priority of this year’s recruiting class.
“They are getting a post player who has a tremendous amount of skill and versatility,” Milton coach David Boyd said. “He is someone who can play well in the post area and step out there and consistently shoot 3-pointers.”
Last year as a junior, Royal averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds while leading Milton to the state championship in Georgia’s largest classification. He made two clutch foul shots with no time on the clock in a 52-51 win over Norcross in the Class AAAAA quarterfinals.
Royal had more than 30 early scholarship offers and narrowed down to Georgia, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest in recent months. He eliminated Wake Forest last week, making the two in-state rivals his finalists.
With his senior season left to play, Royal is Milton’s all-time leading career scorer with 1,602 points. He is one of six Milton players who has been offered a major-college scholarship. Point guard Shannon Scott has committed to Ohio State, while shooting guard Dai-Jon Parker is considering multiple offers, including Georgia.
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146 comments Add your comment
Kansas Gets to the Point; O’Bryant, Harrison and Royal Commit; Other Pledges from the Recruiting Beat « Prep Hoops Assist – High School, Grassroots, and Basketball Recruiting News
October 14th, 2010
5:31 pm
[...] fit to be tied, and ultimately 6′-8″ forward Julian Royal of Milton (Alpahretta, GA) went with Georgia Tech, over Georgia. Royal eliminated Wake Forest from his list recently, leading into the in-state showdown for his [...]
Kenny Anderson
October 14th, 2010
5:31 pm
Basically, this means he’s going to be a one and done because that’s what Hewitt sells.
UGAg b-ball = no
October 14th, 2010
5:32 pm
Said the deciding factor was city > country.
Put that in your corn-cob pipes and smoke it, bumble dawgs. ATL wins out over cow pastures.
Good luck against Vandy, hopefully you improve to 3-4…BAHAHAHAHAHA!
Paul Hewitt
October 14th, 2010
5:32 pm
I may be a glorified AAU coach who can’t coach his way out of a paperbag but I can recruit the heck out of an 18 yr old kid!
DMAN
October 14th, 2010
5:32 pm
Hell yes we got a basketball team,we smack your sorry asses every year!
GTBob
October 14th, 2010
5:36 pm
Dawgs97, you lost to us the year before that when we had one of our worst teams in history. Either way its basketball. Good teams lose to bad teams all the time. UGA lost to Wofford. GT lost to UGA. It happens. You just have to learn from it and get better.
UGAg b-ball = no
October 14th, 2010
5:36 pm
Hahahaha, I like how every two years is now “every year” Georgia beats Tech in b-ball. Gotta love that math they teach in Athens.
FTM
October 14th, 2010
5:37 pm
beat Duke Beat Duke
Paul Hewitt
October 14th, 2010
5:38 pm
I am the Mark Richt of college basketball. I bring in talent and that talent always underperforms. But, hey, we have a lot of one and dones in the NBA so I can always hang my hat on that when I get canned.
Duke
October 14th, 2010
5:39 pm
GT- win something, then talk smack. Until then, shut your pieholes whipping boys
NoCoach Blewitt
October 14th, 2010
5:45 pm
Is Blewitt still the coach??? Then it doesn’t matter. Only difference is the level of underacheivement. Kid must want to play street ball with no actual semblence of game strategy or play calling.
Hey Blewey start an exhibition game with Machelle’s squad so she can embarrass you worthless tail and you will have to quit in shear shame.
NoCoach Blewitt
October 14th, 2010
5:48 pm
BIGDAWG …. Have you been out of your trailer park in the last year??? UGA Went after Derrick Favors with everything they had and LOST. Damn your a moron, not even a year later and you can’t remember “one” instance of this occuring.
Football Fan
October 14th, 2010
5:53 pm
Who cares? I would rather have Coates and Nick Marshall on UGA anyway. We will still beat Tech this year with Thompkins and Leslie and next year with Coates and Marshall.
NoCoach Blewitt
October 14th, 2010
5:57 pm
meant less than 2 years ago
NoCoach Blewitt
October 14th, 2010
5:58 pm
Football Fan .. I agree I would bet pn UGA as well but not due to the teams skill level. It will solely be based on the worst “coach” in NCAA BB
UGA REALLY STANDS FOR JOE DIRT
October 14th, 2010
6:04 pm
DAWGS97, like a previous poster said, run your mouth when you just make the NIT because you rednecks will never make the big dance! This kid realized where better BB is played and thats the ACC douche bag! UGAY was a bottom feeder i the SEC last year and fox won 14 games and had 17 losses and your program is such garbage that you fags call that a success? You guys mention your recruits, well GT had a top 4 class in the nation. Shumpert was a all-american and we have signed plenty of those! Georgia sucks in hoops, give me break. Pitiful program
14-17= losers
UGAY FAN BASE= JOE DIRT MIXED WITH JERRY SPRINGER DNA
SUCK IT, YOUR HOOPS PROGRAM IS ONE OF THE WORST IN THE NATION!!!!
UGA REALLY STANDS FOR JOE DIRT
October 14th, 2010
6:12 pm
Football fan, you may get a rival win vs GT but at the end of the day, we put players in the NBA all day long! We also go to the post season which your crappy program never does, not even the pathetic NIT. You can’t compare the two programs. You can’t even sell out games in that dump up there, because nobody gives a sh*t about your joke of a BB program.
UGAY has 5 post season appearances in it’s existence. Hewitt has done that in his tenure at GT, not including what bobby cremins did at GT. Get a clue idiot
Atlanta Dawg
October 14th, 2010
6:14 pm
I am a Dawg but still want to offer my congrats. I have heard JR is a good kid who will be what PH has never had – A big man who will stay for 4 years. I have seen him play several times and he will be a good college player but not a great one. I don’t see an NBA future because he is probably closer to 6′7. Not many 6′7 PF in the NBA.
DawgMAN
October 14th, 2010
6:15 pm
Congrats to this young man. Wish he was going to UGA!!!
My adivce – stay a few years and also focus on your education!
Our State is blessed with great schools – UGA and GT are both fantastic!!! I wish you the best except for one game each year!
Go Dawgs!!!
Douglas
October 14th, 2010
6:17 pm
What a freaking mistake? And who are these GT fans criticizing UGA — we beat you in basketball even when you have better talent. Get real. Hewitt can recruit but he cannot coach. For any of you GT fans who believe that, you are delusional….and to be so “smart” you do not sound very bright.
GreenJacket
October 14th, 2010
6:19 pm
Remind me again…who is uga’s coach?
Paul in RDU
October 14th, 2010
6:24 pm
Going head to head with Fox at UGA, Royal was a “must get” for Hewitt, so this is good to see.
The ACC is not going to be “wide open” this year – it’s going to be the usual suspects at the top (the guys in the different shades of blue) with a bunch of teams (NCState, FSU, GT, etc) trying to get to #3.
miltonstudent
October 14th, 2010
6:25 pm
i love how someone commented georgia has a basketball team? i sort of remember uga beating tech in basketball last year, the year before that, andthe year before that congrats man
Albert C.
October 14th, 2010
6:26 pm
Any intelligent basketball player will pick the ACC over the SEC, just as any intelligent football player will pick the SEC over the ACC. Next issue?
PTC DAWG
October 14th, 2010
6:27 pm
Congratulations to the kid…..Good to see UGA in the mix. GT got a good one.
Paul in RDU
October 14th, 2010
6:28 pm
Atlanta Dawg – classy post. Hewitt has had 1 big guy stay for 4 years – Luke Schenscher who, coincidentally, was the starting center on the Final Four team.
GoJackets
October 14th, 2010
6:37 pm
and he can make foul shots!!!! Congrats young man and I look forward to seeing you in the Thrillerdome!
UGASlobberknocker
October 14th, 2010
6:40 pm
Dammit! I thought the Dawgs had a chance on this guy.
We’re gonna have to have a couple of good seasons back to back before guys like this start coming to Athens.
Congrats to all you Techies..I begrudgingly ack your basketball superiority..just hope we catch up soon.
RAMBLE ON!!!
October 14th, 2010
6:42 pm
This should help our annual Run for the Bubble.
Still won’t save Phewitts job. I just glad UGAg didn’t get him.
UGA REALLY STANDS FOR JOE DIRT
October 14th, 2010
6:47 pm
Douglas here is some info in regards to the series in hoops between GT and GEORGIA.
The Georgia Tech and Georgia basketball rivalry can be just as heated as its football counterpart. The two teams have played 185 times with Georgia Tech holding 101 wins over Georgia’s 85 wins. The first game between the two basketball teams was on March 10, 1906. Georgia Tech won the game 27-13 in Athens. The longest winning streak by UGA was 7 games, which occurred twice from 1909–1921 and from 1980–1984. Georgia Tech accumulated a 10 game winning streak, its longest over UGA, from 1958–1961. The series is dominated by the home team. The home record since 1906 is 111-52 (68.1%) while 23 games in the series have been played on neutral courts.[25]
The Georgia Tech vs. Georgia game was played in the Omni Coliseum for 13 years beginning in 1981 and ending in 1994. The series in the Omni favored the Yellow Jackets with an 8-6 record.[25] The neutrality of the Omni, because of its proximity to Georgia Tech, came into question by the UGA athletic department in 1993 so the series was renewed as an alternating home court event. The home team has won every game but one since the home court advantage was reinstated. Since 1994, the Tech-UGA basketball game has had the highest average attendance for both teams at their respective stadiums.
So with GT owning your A** in the series and having played for a national title and won conference titles as well, we can correct you idiot UGAY fans when you try to act like you are important in hoops. 5 post season trips in your existence is just pathetic. You always have gymnastics douglas! I don’t know why any UGAY fan would really try to say UGAY is better or that fox is a better coach?? Hewitt has won 20 plus games multiple times and played for a national title! Tell me again what fox has done in his career to even be in the same discussion as hewitt? It surely isn’t the 14–17 record with 2 future 1st rounders in your lineup is it? You guys would be beaten by a duke program by at least 30 points! Just make the NIT first then win 20 plus games for a change, have some lotto picks and then we can discuss fox to hewitt. Talk about delusional fans in athens! Wow
German Shepherd Dawg
October 14th, 2010
6:50 pm
Darn.
I wanted to congratulate the Techies for getting a good player, but you guys can’t even take winning gracefully.
Nevertheless, I hope he has great games for Tech except for one per year. Wish he was a Dawg. Still, we’re on the rise.
Maybe Julian can delay the Yellow Jackets fade into oblivion.
German Shepherd Dawg
October 14th, 2010
6:55 pm
“Ramble on” is prescient.
Vegas Jackette
October 14th, 2010
6:59 pm
FINAL FOUR BABY FINAL FOUR, welcome to GT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Vegas Jackette
October 14th, 2010
7:01 pm
don’t listen to these dogpoopies, they have nothing to do but try to discourage you..but if they had any authority at all, they wouldn’t be trolling these blogs 24/7 anyway
UGA NCAA appearances
October 14th, 2010
7:16 pm
To the poster who keeps saying 5 UGA post season appearances, don’t know where you got your information, but the number of NCAA appearances is 9, not counting NIT (which really aren’t worth counting). The great thing is, and don’t take partisan UGA fans words for it, but go by what savvy basketball people are saying, the Dogs are fixing to enter an era with regular dancing in March.
To the same poster, glad you are thrilled with Hewitt, because many Tech fans are not. From all I can gather, Coach Hewitt is a class individual, and a superb recruiter. That said, most objective fans are not impressed with his game coaching. Thanks to Dave Braine, Hewitt is going to be a big winner notwithstanding his record. He can laugh all the way to the bank with that lifetime rollover contract.
RxDawg
October 14th, 2010
7:25 pm
Awe man…
Grats to Mr. Royal and the Techies
GT GRAD
October 14th, 2010
7:30 pm
Good decision…….I wish him well.
Paul Hewitt will be at GT for a long long time. All true GT fans should support him and the entire team.
UGA REALLY STANDS FOR JOE DIRT
October 14th, 2010
7:35 pm
You are correct UGA NCAA.. I should have said 5 Since 1980.
I don’t disagree with everything you say about hewitt but your beloved dawgfans keep posting that fox is so much better and i say based on what merit? 14-17 with 2 future 1st rounders is not going to cause hewitt to shake in his boots. GT has been a bad road team under hewitt and a bunch of turnovers have plagued him. However i think his days are numbered and i think GT will get a solid coach in place the next go around without question.
DRAD is as good as it gets as the AD, so i have complete faith the next GT coach will continue a great tradition in hoops at GT! We have been to a final four in this decade and the last, so i hope we can keep that going and continue to put players into the NBA. It is very difficult to make a run all the way to the final four and i appreciate what PH did that season. 23 wins last year isn’t bad either!
The Rock
October 14th, 2010
7:38 pm
Guys, a lot of you on this blog need to grow up fast.Why can’t we congratulate the you man and the institution he thought was best for him to further his aspirations in life without being so negative.You wonder why America is degenerating as fast as it is today?
The Rock
October 14th, 2010
7:42 pm
meant’young man’
South Ga Dawg
October 14th, 2010
7:43 pm
Dawgs are on the rise big guy!! Your bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jacketman
October 14th, 2010
8:24 pm
Smart choice, young man.
Bravesfan79
October 14th, 2010
8:27 pm
GT BABY!! Still dissapointed in the tourney run last year tho. We had 2 of the best big men in the country, and should of been more dominant!
GT Sambo
October 14th, 2010
8:46 pm
First, I don’t disagree that GT could have a tough year this year and getting back to the NCAA tournament could tough after losing two good players to the NBA. However, I will note to all the UGA fans that at least went to the NCAA tournament last year and we went to the Final Four in 2004. Everyone talks up UGA and how they are on the rise. Well that UGA b-ball on the rise still finished with a losing record last year, so the good news is that you have tremendous upside potential and you can’t get much worse.
Chuck Allison
October 14th, 2010
9:03 pm
He should have gone to UGA and played for Mark Fox. The less talent Hewitt has, the sooner we can get rid of him, I hope. I think Royal may just be afraid of playing on the same campus with all the UGA criminals. He doesn’t want to get drawn into a life of crime. Also, Mark likes his players to stay more than one year, and Hewitt thinks diplomas are worthless in the NBA.
GT Insider
October 14th, 2010
9:08 pm
Hope I get to kiss him ?
observer
October 14th, 2010
9:23 pm
Julian, congratulations on a job well done!! Your work ethic, determination, dedication, natural talent and passion landed you where you are today. Success will always follow those attributes. Look forward to watching the Milton basketball team this season and wish you the best with your future at GT!
Drago
October 14th, 2010
9:25 pm
He will be a man among, . . among . . . . among ….. tekkies.
Tickle pile here I come.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IL Jacket
October 14th, 2010
9:37 pm
Congratulations, Julian and welcome to the Georgia Tech family. We all look forward to your continued success both on the basketball court and off. Well done.
MILTON GIT SOME
October 14th, 2010
10:08 pm
i go to milton hs and i can say GT got a pf beast. all julian does is dominate people inside and tech is relatively small so they needed him. him along with shannon and dai-jon and our jr foward evan nolte (remember the name) make one of the best hs teams in the country