It’s official: Milton High’s Julian Royal to remain with Georgia Tech under new basketball coach
Unofficial "first win" for the new coach? Brian Gregory told Julian Royal that he "made his day" after deciding to stick with the Yellow Jackets (AJC)
Georgia Tech’s new basketball coach Brian Gregory is off to a good start with recruiting.
On Thursday, Milton High’s Julian Royal called Gregory to say that he was sticking with the Yellow Jackets. Ex-Tech coach Paul Hewitt had convinced the 6-foot-8 forward to sign with the Yellow Jackets over archrival UGA last November.
“I told Coach Gregory that I wanted to keep my commitment and that I wanted to be a Jacket,” Royal told the AJC. “He sounded like he was happy. He said that I ‘made his day’ and ‘made his weekend.’”
Gregory made his recruitment of Royal a top priority. He called Royal within an hour after being introduced on Monday, and rushed over for an in-home visit with Royal and his family for two hours on Tuesday night.
“I want to go to Georgia Tech for the same reasons I originally signed with them — It’s great academics, it’s a great basketball program, they play in the ACC, I like Atlanta … I felt the new coach was still a good coach,” Royal said.
Royal had been leaning to remaining with Tech all along, not even bothering to discuss other schools with his family and friends. He said he felt like Thursday was the right timing. “I didn’t want to drag it out and have a long period to think about it. Georgia Tech is where I want to be.”
Royal was the leading scorer this year for Milton High, which had six players on its roster that had either signed or been offered by major colleges. Milton played for three straight state championships in Georgia’s largest classification, winning the 2010 title.
RELATED: Will Rockdale County’s Kevin Ware join Royal at Tech? Ware was granted a release from his Tennessee basketball scholarship on Thursday and is considering Tech and UGA, among others (Click here)
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111 comments Add your comment
4 Jacks
April 1st, 2011
12:28 am
The Royals are a class act as a family, and although he had every right to look around and ask for his release, it is refreshing that good kids like this do think about academics and know the meaning of making and keeping committments. Most kids today don’t have an idea of the meaning of committment. We should all be proud as GT fans to welcome this Royal family, a true class act. Wish there were more like them. Good luck Julian…it will be fun watching you help lead us back to where we belong, and get that degree young man. Twenty years from now you will know what I am talking about.
Obvious
April 1st, 2011
1:48 am
Milledgeville Dawg,
There’s still nothing in Milledgeville except the Central State (mental) Hospital and some prisons. And although Georgia College is a superior university to UGA that’s not saying much either. If I were you I would change your handle to save yourself the embarrassment of identifying with Milledgeville. As a kid growing up in Atlanta everyone used to joke about being sent to Milledgeville if you were retarded or a delinquent. Which begs the question Milledgeville Dawg, which are you? Retarded or a delinquent? It appears from your posts that you’re both!
Josh G
April 1st, 2011
2:09 am
I have a good feeling about these Jackets!
Check out Atlanta’s new blog at http://www.atlantainsight.com
Stinger2
April 1st, 2011
4:21 am
Good for GT if he has signed his letter of intent. If he is just verbally reafirming a commitment, I would not count him as a sure win for GT. Does anyone know which?
4 ncs are better than 1
April 1st, 2011
6:51 am
Julian saw how Fox mis-managed those two “NBA first rounders” and made the right choice. Can I get a TIMEOUT, please! WHOOOOOPSSSSS!!!!!!! Even Hewitt won a game in the tourney with Favors, Fox had two of ‘em! GT rich with BB history. Ugay, well………
reality
April 1st, 2011
7:37 am
Great move Julian….you can help GT basketball back to a top National program.
reality
April 1st, 2011
7:39 am
…and don’t let the comments from 1 Milledge Idiot take away from positive posts on this subject from other UGA fans.
UGA=Yawn
April 1st, 2011
7:51 am
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times – GT fans ignore the posts from UGA fans. The blog started out so great with all positive comments then it got into a war of words between GT and UGA. We are above UGA – don’t stoop to their levels. Continue to pour out the positive comments about the direction of the GT basketball program, congratulate coach Gregory and welcome Julian to a spectacular school in a spectacular city.
Got Milton dad's back
April 1st, 2011
7:54 am
Julian wanted to keep his committment to Ga. tech, and he did. All of the Milton players are class acts. Julian has done a great job for Milton. We’re looking for great things from all of our seniors playing next year: Julian should have a good chance to start at the 4; Shannon and Craft will form a great backcourt for Ohio State; Dai Jon should fit in well at Vandy knocking down 3’s and playing great D, and Furman got a steal in Loyd; he will be one of their best players immediately.
suwanee jacket
April 1st, 2011
8:10 am
Great choice. Looking forward to the future of the Jackets program
AlphaJacket
April 1st, 2011
8:55 am
What a great affirmation that Julian Royal really chose the SCHOOL and not just the coach when he originally committed. That made his decision to stay after the coaching change that much easier. He seems like a very classy kid with great family support.
Julian, you won’t regret confirming your original commitment to Tech. Welcome to the Tech family, and may you have a wonderful career in the New ‘Thriller Dome!; I;m looking forward to seeing you on the court later this year. Go Jackets!
GTboro
April 1st, 2011
9:02 am
Glad to have Julian as a Jacket!
gt
April 1st, 2011
9:03 am
Tech needs those bigs. Now that we have someone that can coach them maybe more will show up. You got Brandon Reed a transfer eligible next year, who is a killer number two guard. You have point guards with skill coming back and I like the progress Daniel Miller made last year, not dominate but can hit foul shots when fouled and can score when open and when the guard has the sense to throw it to him. This team was fairly good last year at defense, couldn’t help themselves they were so athletic. It is the offense that couldn’t get out of its own way. This may change next year. Outside of not being able to hit foul shots and bring the ball in, rebounds bounding off the heads of our players, into the hands of a more alert opponent’s hands, was the most upsetting thing about Hewitt’s teams.
GoJackets!
April 1st, 2011
9:04 am
A great news! He may not be a superstar player people talk about but he’s a very talented kid who can help Tech basketball almost immediately. If Shumpert comes back I except Tech to compete well against UNC and Duke to take the ACC next year. Expect Udofia to play a lot better too.
Calm Down
April 1st, 2011
9:05 am
I think he kept his commitment cause a lot of the old offers are off the table when Julie forgot to show in the state tourney this year. GT wastes a scholarship on a kid who will not be a factor in the ACC.
gt
April 1st, 2011
9:31 am
I agree with GoJackets. Udofia could be a very good point guard next year. Hewitt from the very start overplayed Mo Miller who was clueless for all 4 years. What kind of pictures that guy must have had on Hewitt would be interesting to know. Tech will be a factor in the ACC if it can get over not having a home to play out of. Hell it may make them tougher, and maybe they can win some on the road. It will be hard to improve that much, some of Hewitt’s players may not buy in to the program, but they have talent and now a coach, GoJackets may be right.
juvenal
April 1st, 2011
9:42 am
kids need to go where they want-hopefully for positive reasons, every place has +/-…….
The V Tech Shop
April 1st, 2011
9:43 am
I am a Tech grad from ‘73. It’s funny how some nowadays refer to Tech as “The Flats” as McPants on p. 1 referred. The flats are the Rose Bowl field area, a flat area. Perhaps these referers are begging to attend Tech as a football school only, and try to avoid climbing “The Hill”, or “the zion of the southland”, carrying their textbooks up the crucifixion hill as if the books were made of wood as the crucifixion cross was. Boy do they ever fear of failure in class. Georgia Tech is more than football. Gotta have academics and test scores also, need to weed out the carry the textbooks for girlfriends in addition to themselves-type high school jocks. Tech is not a high school. The closest hs is Grady at the end of Tenth St. Go down there and hang out if you can’t pass tests. Pass a football instead.
juvenal
April 1st, 2011
9:44 am
we have beaten unc 4 straight……
BigTimeTECHFan
April 1st, 2011
9:48 am
Awesome, hope he can help Tech get Nolte next year, that would be sweet.
Royal is very good player, may not be instant impact but should be big time ACC player by the time he’s a junior. Game reminds me a little of Danny Manning.
GT BBall Fan
April 1st, 2011
9:50 am
This is the first in many positive stories involving GT hoops over the next few years. Good job Gregory, Good job DRad!
ormewood
April 1st, 2011
10:05 am
Good news for Tech. I don’t think Royal will be a star, but he should be a solid contributor. I think Tech can be competitive next season, but it’s a stretch saying they will compete with Duke and UNC. I think the ceiling will be about 9-7 in conference, which would equal Hewitt’s best conference slate. With the right wins and some good performances out of the conference, that might be good enough to make the tourney next season. I do believe the lack of a home court will be an issue, unfortunately.
Ramblin Man
April 1st, 2011
10:06 am
Thanks for sticking with the commitment Julian. I will also say good job to Gregory for keeping him and thanks to Hewitt for reaching out to the kid as well. Hopefully Iman will stay and Gregory can turn things around for a decent season next year.
MILTON Forever
April 1st, 2011
10:41 am
@ Calm Down.
Julian is Milton’s leading scorer. He played through a BROKEN finger this year & he tore something in his leg. THATS why he could barely play in the state game this year. People like you are quick to judge but never look at the reasoning behind the situation. Julian KNEW that if he wouldve tried to shoot in that game and dominate the court then he wouldve fcked up his leg, and missed.
LEAVE the kid alone. Hes done great, senior year wasnt his best because of so many inguries, but wait until next year. He will prove all of the haters and ppl who dont know sht wrong….
Good Coach
April 1st, 2011
11:12 am
Royal thinks the new guy is a good coach. This doesn’t mean anything because Royal thought Hewitt was a good coach too.
I thought the “smart guys” were the ones that went to GT?
G-dub
April 1st, 2011
11:13 am
What’s all the hype about? He sounds like an intelligent kid from a great family but that doesn’t translate into wins. I seen him play 3 years and still don’t know what all the is about. I don’t think he is one of the top 5 big men in the state. He certainly won’t be a big man in college but we will see.
Mark
April 1st, 2011
11:22 am
Athens is a dump?? What would call the surrounding area of GT’s campus??
Mark
April 1st, 2011
11:22 am
Oh I got it, it’s not a dump right? It’s “urban”
ManUp...
April 1st, 2011
11:29 am
There ya go, Coach BG! I think I can muster up a hearty “Go Jackets!” for a time like this.
Go Jackets?
Gooooo Jackets!
ManUp...
April 1st, 2011
11:33 am
(just for the record)
Neither Athens nor Midtown are dumps. We really ought to stop hating on eachothers’ campuses (campi?) as BOTH of our in-state schools have been improving their curb appeal for years. Especuilly since the Olympics. And BOTH of their historic campus areas (the North Campus quad in Athens and “The Hill” with Tech Tower in Midtown). Other states really should be jealous of Tech and UGA both…except maybe last year in football…but that will change. I still hate Georgia, but I’m not gonna make up crap about their campus. I do still like the look and feel of Tech better, though. Only a month till I’m outta there, too!
Go Jackets!
BRW
April 1st, 2011
11:44 am
Athens not a dump eh? Then why do all the UGA fans treat it like one on Saturdays? Hmmmm?
“Athens is a dump?? What would call the surrounding area of GT’s campus??”
YOUR state capital dummy.
BuckheadBill
April 1st, 2011
12:02 pm
I’ve been to many other places overseas and wherever I roamed when saying that I am from Georgia, they always asked if I was from Statham.
RAMBLINWRECK
April 1st, 2011
12:26 pm
MILLEDGEVILLE DAWG
GT runs this state in hoops son! Check out the overall record for the substance to back it up! Nice to see fox could beat the worst hoops coach GT has seen since prior to bobby cremins in the early 80’s!! Just remember GT has made 2 final fours in the past 2 decades and you guys have done what exactly? Nothing. How many bums at UGA go to the NBA compared to GT?? Exactly! Thanks for playing, NEXT!
burrr
April 1st, 2011
12:55 pm
@milton forever
Where did you hear this info? he didnt play because he is undisciplined and got in foul trouble during the playoffs. Also if his leg was that messed up he wouldnt have played in an all star game the week after.
Alan
April 1st, 2011
1:27 pm
welcome Julian. Looking forward to watching you and the other players and coach gregory at the gwinnett arena next season.
Good Coach
April 1st, 2011
2:16 pm
GT doesn’t run the state in anything non-nerd related.
greenjacket
April 1st, 2011
2:25 pm
milledgeville….i didn’t know you could get internat access in teh state hospital?
greenjacket
April 1st, 2011
2:26 pm
good coach, it’s now 4 out of 5 in baseball. maybe you guys should give up there
Techster2
April 1st, 2011
2:40 pm
And the UGA journalism majors all cried.
Was that before or after they wet their red panties?
Good Coach is a moron
April 1st, 2011
2:45 pm
Good Coach: “GT doesn’t run the state in anything non-nerd related.”
Nor does Tech run the state in signing illiterate morons and thugs for the football team.
There’s a reason why UGAy is known around the world as The Cesspool of the South.
Tech Man
April 1st, 2011
2:53 pm
For you DAWG fans that just keep bashing Tech for the crime around the campus. What do you think you have in Athens. Within the last two weeks you’ve had two robberies, a home invasion, abduction, and rape. From the police journal, check it out. So quit bashing the Tech campus when you have the same problems in your great city. Oh yea, I almost forgot the situation where a policeman was killed. Even around the Tech campus it didn’t get that bad.
FullMetalJacket
April 1st, 2011
2:55 pm
We’re obviously happy that you kept your commitment, Julian, so welcome aboard. I certainly understand when young men change their minds, especially with a coaching change, but the commitment really should be to the school and the student-athlete’s education. Who knows when a coach is going to bolt, or what the future may have in store for any of us. This will be good for the coach, good for the team, and good for Julian.
FullMetalJacket
April 1st, 2011
2:58 pm
Hoping Coach Gregory still has time to lock up a late recruit or two to help out. Next year we will have some talent on the floor, and if Imam decides to wait on the NBA, both he and the team could have an excellent year indeed for a first-year coach’s team.
rishi
April 1st, 2011
3:05 pm
I think Julian and his family handled this situation very well, as did Coach Gregory. However, I don’t see him turning around this disaster of a GT program in two years, as did Mark Fox at Georgia started to do this year. Besides being in Atlanta and the ACC, I don’t know why any athlete would choose Tech with its awful guy to girl ratio and overall nerdy student body.
FullMetalJacket
April 1st, 2011
3:08 pm
VTech:
“zion of the southland?” don’t you mean to quote the alma mater “O,Scion of the Southland”, which means “Son” or “Branch” of the South? Unless you are making either an anti-Semitic, sarcastic reference or a cheesy Pro-Israeli remark. Either way, what the heck can you mean? Tech has been called “the Flats” for decades, referring to Grant Field as the site of football games. Journalists from other regions and schools are unlikely to even know what Rose Bowl field is or why it is so named (even though Jackets know, of course). Everyone can make a mistake, but don’t take the “know-it-all” tack on an issue when you are so far off the mark yourself. It makes you sound like a dog.
FullMetalJacket
April 1st, 2011
3:12 pm
At least a dozen other schools in the country have the nickname of “the Flats” referring to their playing fields, usually in football (the American variety). VTech’s post is more disturbing each time I read it…crucifixion, carrying books for girls, humping the hill…he may have graduated in ‘73 but I wonder when he was committed?
FullMetalJacket
April 1st, 2011
3:19 pm
The funniest anecdote about Athens is that it was mistakenly named that because it sat on seven hills, which is, of course, actually “Rome.” Athens is a great college town and even as undergrads at Tech we used to go there to check out the B-52s, Pylon, REM, at places like the 40-watt Club. Wonderful bookstores, bars, stores, and some interesting architecture. It does have it’s projects and crack hoods, but what city doesn’t? I have no use for the ‘Dawgs,’ but I can’t slam the town. (Any town with a city hall guarded by a double-barrel cannon–a failed bit of Civil War technology–is cool enough for me.)
FullMetalJacket
April 1st, 2011
3:22 pm
While the former Franklin College has some real architectural treasures, such as the Chapel, the two best college campuses I’ve ever seen are Mr. Jefferson’s University in Charlottesville, and Ole Miss.
Stinger2
April 1st, 2011
3:28 pm
I don`t understand why both UGA and GT fans get on these blogs with nothing better to say than negative and demeaning comments about the others campus and surrouding areas. Look guys, the trash talk proves only that you have no idea about the subject of the article written.
Vespula
April 1st, 2011
3:58 pm
This is a great thing to see. A young man who is interested in playing for Tech, but mentions the academics first. I hope he excels both in his education and in his sport.
And Milledgeville Dawg, I grew up there too. Our class from Baldwin High had more of us go to Tech than to Georgia. We are medical doctors, professors and industry professionals now. It’s too bad the old industries there were shipped to China. It was a great community once.