Nevada men’s basketball signs historic recruiting class
After months of waiting, the biggest signing in Nevada men’s basketball history is official – Luke is coming.
Luke Babbitt, a potential McDonald’s All-American from Galena High who is ranked the No. 19 prospect in the country by Scout.com, is officially a member of the Wolf Pack after signing a national letter of intent today, the first day of college basketball’s early signing period.
For Babbitt, a 6-foot-8, 215 pound forward with good size and a soft shooting touch, Wednesday ended a recruiting process that started during his freshman season and included scholarship offers from UCLA, Arizona, and Ohio State.
Babbitt originally verballed to the Buckeyes., but changed his mind this summer when he decided to stay closer to home.
“I just felt that it would be nice to be close to home for my family and then also and I felt comfortable with coach Fox and the whole coaching staff,” Babbitt said.
“It’s nice to finally get it (signing) done. Now people can’t ask me ‘Are you 100 percent?’ because I’ve signed. Now there’s no turning back now. I’m glad I did it.”
In Babbitt, the Wolf Pack grabbed the highest rated recruit in program history.
“Luke Babbitt is established as one of the premier players in the nation,” Nevada coach Mark Fox said. “It’s a special day in our program to sign a player like Luke.”
Babbitt is the highlight of a three-person class that, on paper, stacks up as maybe the best in program history.
Rivals.com ranks the Wolf Pack’s class No. 22 in the nation, and first among mid-major programs, while Scout.com ranks it No. 23.
The Wolf Pack also received a letter of intent on Wednesday from 6-foot-5 Seattle shooting guard Mark McLaughlin, a four-star prospect ranked No. 76 in the nation by Scout.com.
The final letter of intent came from Texas point guard London “Cotton” Giles, who wasn’t ranked by Scout.com or Rivals.com but received attention from Kansas, Texas A&M, and Marquette.
Rivals.com ranked Babbitt, McLaughlin and Giles as the top incoming players in the Western Athletic Conference at their respective positions.
“Although they play different positions, they each have a great deal in common,” Nevada coach Mark Fox. “All three are quality kids who come from great families, and they share an ability to shoot the basketball. We are very much looking forward to their careers as student-athletes at the University of Nevada.”
The Wolf Pack’s recruiting success follows four straight trips to the NCAA Tournaments and four straight WAC championships. Last season, the Wolf Pack was ranked in the top 10 for the first time in school history on the way to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“We have been fortunate to have success and for some kids to have noticed it,” Fox said.
Next year will also be a reunion of sorts for Babbitt. Last season he shared Northern Nevada player of the year honors with Armon Johnson, a freshman at Nevada and the Wolf Pack’s starting point guard. Next year the two local products will be on the floor as teammates.
Babbitt said he’s not worried about any extra pressure from staying home and playing in front of the same fans who have watched him growing up.
“I don’t really care,” Babbitt said. “I think expectations are high for everybody. I put a lot of expectations on myself. I have high goals. I want to win a national championship.”
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on Thursday, November 15th, 2007 at 7:48 am and is filed under Breaking News, Men's Basketball, Sports.
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