Archive for August, 2011

Collin Barber, who is committed to UGA on a football scholarship, has been suspended for at least one high school game and could face further disciplinary actions after being arrested.

The punter from Cartersville High School was arrested last Saturday by the Cartersville police and charged with four counts of destruction of mailboxes.

“I don’t have any more information available than what’s already out there about the situation because I haven’t met with all the parties, his mother, and everybody,” Cartersville coach Frank Barden told the AJC.

Will this affect Barber’s scholarship offer from UGA? “I don’t know the answer to that yet because I haven’t had any contact yet with Georgia,” Barden said. “I’ve got to get in touch with [UGA assistant] John Lilly down there and see what’s going on.”

The coach confirmed that Barber will be suspended for Cartersville’s next game and could face other disciplinary actions. “Kids, and everybody for that …

Continue reading UGA football recruit Collin Barber suspended for game after being arrested for destruction of mailboxes »

Lassiter High School safety Kene Orjiokie is the hottest college football prospect in Georgia.

The senior transfer from California landed his third football scholarship in five days on Wednesday night. N.C. State offered, following in the footsteps of Georgia Tech and Ole Miss a few days ago.

“I talked to N.C. State, and I’m very appreciative of the offer,” Orjioke told the AJC. “They asked me what position would I like to play, safety or linebacker? I told them I’ll play anywhere that helps the team win. Yes sir, I’m fine with any position.”

Which college will be next? UGA, Auburn, Tennessee, Clemson, Mississippi State and East Carolina have all expressed interest. Orjioke will be making an unofficial visit to Auburn on Saturday.

Kene, which is pronounced “Kenny”, is the stuff of recruiting legends.

He was virtually unknown to college scouts after moving from California to Georgia over the summer.

Kene is a native of Nigeria and has lived in Australia and Chicago, among other …

Continue reading Which college will be next to offer Kene Orjioke? UGA, Tennessee, Auburn interested »

 Loading …

When M.L. King High School wide receiver Blake Tibbs got his long-awaited UGA offer a few days ago, many thought Tibbs would commit before Mark Richt could finish getting the words out of his mouth.

We were wrong.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder has the Bulldogs in his top four, along with Kentucky, Arkansas and Southern Miss. Tibbs will be one of the featured players in the WSB-TV’s “Thursday Night Football” when M.L. King plays South Gwinnett at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Tibbs got the news about UGA over the telephone from Richt last Friday.

“We just caught up, and I told Coach Richt that I was interested and that I definitely wanted to make a visit to Athens,” Tibbs told the AJC.

“I told him I was still going to take my other visits. Coach Richt was telling me that was good, but he also said ‘You don’t want to miss out somewhere you …

Continue reading M.L. King WR Blake Tibbs gets long-awaited UGA offer; Will he commit to Bulldogs? »

Mike Davis (AJC photo by Michael Carvell)

Could Florida be in danger of losing one of Georgia’s top running backs?

Stephenson High School’s Mike Davis, who committed early to the Gators, confirmed to the AJC that he plans to visit other schools but remains committed to Florida.

“I just want to take my visits with my teammates,” Davis explained. “There’s nothing there with me committing to another school. It’s just me going to have fun with my teammates while they are having fun. I want to enjoy the time with them because I know this might be my last time with them. Of course I’m committed to the Florida Gators. I’m not trying to go anywhere else.”

Which other schools may get visits from Davis? He isn’t ready to say. “I don’t know.” Davis had around 15 early offers when he committed to Florida last February over Alabama, South Carolina, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Penn State.  What about UGA or Georgia Tech? “I haven’t heard anything …

Continue reading Could the Florida Gators be in danger of losing star RB Mike Davis? »

Georgia Tech has offered a football scholarship to Kene Orjioke, one of the state’s fastest-rising senior prospects.

Orjioke is relatively unknown among college scouts after transferring from California to the Lassiter High School district over the summer. His mother is a doctor. Orjioke is one of the younger players in the 2012 class, as he turned 16 years old in June.

The 6-foot-4 and 217 pounder plays safety for Lassiter High School, and projects to play outside linebacker in college. Ole Miss was the first offer Orjioke, while Georgia Tech joined the sweepstakes on Monday night.

Orjioke quickly caught the attention of college scouts with his physical style of play in Lassiter’s season-opening win over defending Class AAAAA state champion Brookwood in the Corky Kell Classic in the Georgia Dome.

“Kene obviously wasn’t here in the spring when the colleges stopped by our school,” Orjioke said. “After we played in the Dome, we had somebody put together a video and …

Continue reading Kene Orjioke gets football offer from Georgia Tech »

 Loading …

Georgia Tech was the last college visit for “Big John” Atkins announces his decision on Friday morning.

The 6-foot-4, 290-pound defensive lineman from Thomson High School named UGA, Georgia Tech, Florida, Auburn and Clemson as his finalists.

Georgia Tech was the school that had the opportunity to make a last impression.

Big John made an unofficial visit to Georgia Tech on Saturday; the coaching staff was gone by the time he arrived, but he spent a few hours hanging out with some of the players.

“It went good; I like Georgia Tech because they are like a family,” Atkins told the AJC.

What about archrival UGA? “I’ve liked them ever since I was younger,” he said.

Georgia Tech and UGA appear to have inside position, along with Auburn, because Atkins has traveled to the campus of all three. He has never visited Florida and Clemson, but still says …

Continue reading NT John Atkins ready to pick among UGA, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Florida & Clemson »

 Loading …

Tony Parker, who is ranked one of the nation’s top 25 college basketball prospects, has announced where he will be taking official visits.

The 6-foot-9, 275-pound forward from Miller Grove High School will take recruiting trips to Duke, Ohio State, UCLA, Memphis, and Georgetown. Parker had around 30-40 early scholarship offers, including Georgia Tech and UGA.

Parker has already set the dates for two of his visits: He is scheduled to travel to Ohio State on Sept. 9- 10, and to Memphis on Oct. 14-15. “Tony is in the process of working out dates for the other three,” Miller Grove coach Sharman White said.

Southwest DeKalb power forward Shaq Goodwin is also ranked among the nation’s top 25 prospects. His five leaders are UGA, Florida, Alabama, UCLA and Memphis. Go here to read more about Shaq.

Tony Parker (No. 32) and …

Continue reading Basketball: Tony Parker will take visits to Duke, Ohio State, UCLA, Memphis and Georgetown »

Note: Fast forward to the 2:02 point of the above video to see Shaq’s award-winning dunks

Is Shaq Johnson the best dunker in the history of Georgia high school basketball? We debated that topic in a recent blog here.

Johnson, who just started his senior year at Milton High School, added to his legendary status by winning the Under Armour Dunk Contest at Venice Beach, Calif., on Friday.

The featured contestant was Derrick Williams, the No. 2 pick of the NBA Draft.

“Derrick Williams had no idea what he was getting into with Shaq there,” Milton coach David Boyd said with a laugh. “Derrick Williams didn’t even know who Shaq  was. He does now.”

The rest of the field consisted of 24 high schoolers, including Johnson, who committed early to Auburn.

The 6-foot-4 Johnson won with a windmill dunk, a high-flying dunk that cleared 6-foot-9 Tony Parker of Miller Grove High School, and a circus dunk by going through his legs and jamming left-handed.

Whatever you see on the …

Continue reading Shaq Johnson dominates NBA’s No. 2 pick in dunk contest »

 Loading …

Chaz Elder, who is ranked as Georgia’s No. 1 college prospect at safety, decided on Friday to postpone his college decision between South Carolina and UGA.

“I do apologize,” Banneker assistant Ryan Andrews said. “I know everyone is waiting on his announcement. I was just informed by Chaz he will not announce today. I am not sure what caused the change of heart. Again, I do apologize for this. I am not sure when or how soon a decision will come. Thank you.”

Even before the postponement, the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder from Banneker High School had decided against calling a press conference on Friday because it wasn’t his style. Elder felt uncomfortable with drawing attention to himself. He and his coaches were just going to let a few people know via Social Media and text messages. Elder is also considering Vanderbilt, but UGA and South …

Continue reading Chaz Elder postpones college decision between South Carolina and UGA … (UPDATED) »

Kevin Ware has had an action-packed recruiting journey since Tennessee fired Bruce Pearl on March 21 (Photo by adidas)

Kevin Ware had one of college basketball’s wildest recruiting journeys over the last six months.

And may not be over. Or let’s just say there may be another twist or turn.

The 6-foot-4 point guard from Rockdale County High School might not be eligible to play for Louisville until January, Louisville coach Rick Pitino told the Louisville Courier-Journal. Pitino expects a decision to come within the next week or two.

Here’s more from the Courier-Journal:

Pitino said it’s an academic issue and not related to the NCAA’s investigation of Central Florida’s recruiting. The 6-foot-4 Ware, from Rockdale County High School in Georgia, signed with Tennessee before coach Bruce Pearl was fired, then got his release and commited to UCF. After a [report] linked his UCF recruitment to a possible street agent, Ware backed out. In June he announced he would attend U of …

Continue reading Ex-UGA target Kevin Ware may not be eligible to play at Louisville until January »