Tyler Adams to Georgetown; Former Duke Commit Picks Hoyas Over Mississippi State

Mississippi big man Tyler Adams has committed to Georgetown, according to ESPN's Dave Telep.  Adams is listed as the 5th best center and 54th best player in the Class of 2011 by Rivals. 

He had originally given a verbal commitment to Duke in April but chose to attend Georgetown's Midnight Madness rather than the festivities staged by the Blue Devils.  He withdrew his commitment to Duke in late October and was recently deciding between Georgetown and Mississippi State before announcing his intentions to come to the Hilltop next fall.

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Some Duke fans will certainly cry foul play, and make feeble attempts to differentiate this situation from the recruitment of Austin Rivers, who was committed to Florida when he took an unofficial visit to Durham, subsequently reopening his recruitment and later committing to Duke.  Others will realize that the fickle verbal commitments of 17 year old high school players are often subject to change and the recruiting game involves attaining and now maintaining verbal commitments.  Adams chose to reevaluate his initial college choice and wanted to explore more options.  Given his prior connection to new Georgetown assistant coach Robert Kirby, and the program's recent history of sending big men to the NBA, the Hoyas were a natural choice.  Plenty of other rumors are out there regarding Adams' decision, some make more sense than others depending on your school allegiance.

I admit that I was initially disappointed to learn that Georgetown was involved with a player that had committed to another program, and the fact that Duke had done something similar with Austin Rivers was not a justifiable reason.  I do trust, however, that Thompson the Third and staff acted ethically, and I realize that the recruiting game is quickly changing as verbal commitments are often meaningless. To quote the venerable Omar: "The game's out there, and it's play or get played." 

Since coming to the Hilltop, John Thompson III has battled Mike Krzyzewski for many recruits, including Greg Monroe, Hollis Thompson, Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton.  The Tyler Adams saga will certainly add more fuel to the recruiting fire as both programs continue to pursue the similar types of players.  This makes for an interesting story line for the 2011 Maui Invitational, which features both the Hoyas and Blue Devils.

For Georgetown, the Adams commitment continues an incredible turnaround in Hoya recruiting.  After a dismal summer, Georgetown has secured four commitments in the last two months, including an under-the-radar wing in Jabril Trawick, a top center in Mikael Hopkins, and a rising star in Brandon Bolden.  Considering the quality of players who attended Georgetown's Midnight Madness, the future is bright for Hoya Basketball.  Georgetown now has one scholarship left in 2011 and two in 2012, and is actively pursuing a number of top-rated recruits, including guards Kyle Anderson and James Robinson and big man Daniel Ochefu. 

Hoya Saxa.