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Thompson signs with UT men's basketball

by Mark Rosner AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF , Austin American-Statesman


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Tristan Thompson, the 6-foot-9 forward who pledged to play basketball for the Longhorns after his sophomore season in high school, was finally allowed to make his commitment official Wednesday.

The senior at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., signed with Texas on the first day of the NCAA's weeklong national signing period. Thompson transferred to Findlay last season from St. Benedict's Prep in Newark.

Unclear is whether Thompson will be the only Texas men's recruit for 2010. Cory Joseph, a point guard who is Thompson's teammate at Findlay and with the Grassroots Canada AAU club in Toronto, has yet to determine when he will sign. He has visited Texas, Connecticut, Villanova and Minnesota.

Longhorns coach Rick Barnes has four players committed in the class of 2011.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M signed four players, including Dripping Springs standout Daniel Alexander, in a class that ESPN analyst Bob Gibbons said will rank among the top 15 nationally.

A&M signed the 6-8 Alexander, 6-8 Tobi Oyedeji of Houston Bellaire and a pair of 6-9 prospects, Keith Davis of DeSoto and Kourtney Roberson of Arcadia, La.

The Texas women also had one signing Wednesday in Anne Marie Hartung, a 6-3 forward from Bowling Green, Mo. The women's team expects three more players to sign this week; it has received commitments from Frisco's Tiffany Moore - the fifth-rated shooting guard in the country by ESPN's Hoopgurlz.com - as well as 5-10 guard Chelsea Bass of Houston and 5-10 guard Chassidy Fussell of Union City, Tenn.

Thompson, the Texas men's signee, was ranked the No. 1 player nationally in the class of 2010 by Scout.com for a long stretch. He is now No. 6 by Scout, No. 7 by Hoop Scoop, No. 11 by ESPNU and No. 17 by Rivals.com.

Assessments of Thompson changed over the summer after he suffered a high ankle sprain and sometimes did not play to his capabilities.

Dave Telep, national recruiting director for Scout.com, said, "Dismissing his talent would be a major mistake. He was the best player at the Adidas Nations (camp) last spring pre-injury."

Thompson averaged 19.1 points and 9.6 rebounds in 21 games at St. Benedict's last season. He transferred after he was dismissed from the team after talking back to coach Dan Hurley during a game.

Thompson's AAU coach, Ro Russell, said Thompson was responding to "negativity and degrading behavior" by Hurley. Thompson averaged 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds in five games at Findlay.

As for Joseph, he is trying to determine which schools will lose their point guards to the NBA next spring.

"He wants to step in and make an immediate impact," Russell said.

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