PF LaRon Smith will sign with Georgia State
LaRon Smith, a 6-foot-8 power forward from Palm Bay, Fla., has committed to play basketball at Georgia State.
Smith picked Georgia State over offers from Duquense, Jacksonville and Campbell, among others. He will sign with Georgia State on April 11, the beginning of the NCAA’s late signing period.
“He’s a 6-foot-8 kid with a 7-2 wingspan,” Heritage High School coach Stephen Link told the AJC. “He can play inside or outside. He was my lead shot blocker. He has the ability to step out and shot the 3-pointer but also finish inside.”
Smith averaged 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 4.5 rebounds this past season at Heritage. He committed after taking an official visit to Georgia State last week.
“I didn’t know if he’d commit on his visit,” Link said. “But he fell in love with the city, the coaches, and the direction of the program. They’re going nothing but up and up right now.
“LaRon has the chance to play against some high quality competition and hopefully help Georgia State get to the NCAA tournament.”
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18 comments Add your comment
GStateBen
March 26th, 2012
8:06 pm
Thanks Michael! He compares very favorably with Eric Buckner with a little more polish offensively at this point. Cannot wait to see what Hunter and the coaching staff do with Smith.
BTW, comparing a prospect with the 5th best shot blocker in the NCAA should tell you the level that Georgia State is recruiting at right now.
Big time get with TWO scholarships available.
Panama
March 26th, 2012
8:16 pm
This may be the best Spring in GSU Sports History. Up and Up.
gsu01
March 26th, 2012
8:26 pm
Another great get by Coach Hunter. Welcome to GSU Mr. Smith!
tjhook
March 26th, 2012
8:28 pm
Mr. Carvell, might the Atlanta paper do some coverage on the only Georgia Division I basketball team still playing: the Mercer Bears men’s basketball team. They are playing in the Collegeinsider.com Tournament’s championship game Wednesday at Utah State. The game is on Fox College Sports. Why not call a rep for the program and get some info and a chance for Georgia natives to support a state program.
tjhook
March 26th, 2012
8:29 pm
Will there be any coverage of the Mercer Bears’s in the College Insider.com championship game Wednesday night? (They play at Utah State on Fox College Sports channel)
tjhook
March 26th, 2012
8:30 pm
take away the ’s for the Bears. (typo)
Phil Oneacre
March 26th, 2012
8:32 pm
We are hot, don’t need no heater
Sluggo
March 26th, 2012
8:56 pm
Welcome to Panther Nation young man!
Nick Bray
March 26th, 2012
10:53 pm
Welcome to Panther Nation LaRon! Expecting nothing but big things in the future!
jweaver
March 26th, 2012
11:50 pm
Glad to see another big man added to this recruiting class! Panther basketball shaping up to be a force in a couple of years…
ajg-marietta
March 27th, 2012
7:55 am
A physical rebounding PF was certainly what this recruiting class needed and it looks like Smith fits the bill. I certainly hope he can become the shot blocker that Buckner was this past season.
Note that the sentence “Smith averaged 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 4.5 rebounds this past season…” doesn’t make any sense. I think you mean 4.5 blocks.
Repsond to Phil Oneacre
March 27th, 2012
10:10 am
We don’t need any Heaters around here. Oops meant Haters Freudian slip.
Do you think Jerry Heater travels with a security guard where ever he goes? If he gets bad service at Burger King does he eject the cashier and then hide behind his rental cop Barney Fife.
Hammer22
March 27th, 2012
1:30 pm
4.5 blocks is insane, if true.
Phil Oneacre
March 28th, 2012
8:29 am
Heater is an easy and cheap target. Just want to make the best of it.
Heater did not cost us the game, we, our team, cost us the game. Some days everything works as expected. Other days some things just do not. Life works this way. Still love this team and hope the best for all of our departing seniors.
STATEment
March 28th, 2012
9:18 am
Even with Heater, we would have beat Mercer by 8-10 points had we had Micheaux, a starter all year long, one of our best defenders and one of the few players on our team that could get to the rim and open things up for Buckner and our shooters.
Haven’t seen a highlight video like this from a GState recruit EVER! Pumped to see this guy on campus.
GStateBen
March 28th, 2012
3:49 pm
New film on Smith:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0__dtTulRA&sns=tw
GSU_MEX_ALUM
March 29th, 2012
9:32 am
Welcome to GSU Smith! Looking forward to seeing you play next season!
@GStateBen: Thanks for sharing the new video. Smith looks like a beast in the paint!
GSU is in Atlanta
March 29th, 2012
9:23 pm
This guy is a great addition to the team and will hopefully pick up where Buckner left off! I figure being coached by Hunter and Co. will really help Smith turn into an even more amazing player.
Thanks for the info Michael!