November 14, 2002
Marlon Pompey of Toronto, Canada, Acie Law IV of Dallas and Justin Loewe of Caldwell have signed national letters-of-intent to play college basketball at Texas A&M, Aggies head coach Melvin Watkins said Thursday.
"We're very excited about this class," said Watkins, who expects to add an additional player before the early signing period ends. "As we continue to add pieces to the puzzle, this may be our best recruiting class to date. It certainly addresses our immediate needs."
Pompey, a 6-8 forward who is attending Winchendon (Mass.) Prep this year, is ranked as the No. 64 prospect nationally by PrepStars and is rated No. 40 among 5th-year prep players by Hoop Scoop. He also was recruited by Texas, Auburn, Syracuse and Alabama-Birmingham.
"Marlon is a very athletic forward and has a chance to be a contributor for us right away," Watkins said. "He has the ability to score as well as rebound."
Law, a 6-3 guard from Kimball High School, averaged 17.8 points and 6.0 assists as a junior, leading his team to a 29-7 record and the Class 5A state championship game. Law was named his district's most valuable player and was the only junior named to The Dallas Morning News' All-Area Team. He also was named to the Class 5A All-State Tournament Team and played in the prestigious adidas ABCD Camp last summer in Las Vegas, where recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons rated him among the top 10 guards. In addition to A&M, he was recruited by Oklahoma, SMU and Baylor.
"Acie comes from a winning program," Watkins said. "Anytime you get a player from Dallas Kimball, you know you are getting someone who is well-coached. We really like his ability to score and see the floor."
Loewe, a 6-5 guard from Caldwell High School, was a second-team Class 3A all-state pick as a junior after averaging 24.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and earning his district's offensive player of the year honors. He is rated the No. 14 prospect in the state by Texas Hoops. Loewe connected on 41 percent last season from three-point range and made 86 percent from the free throw line. He also was recruited by Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Baylor and SMU.
"We consider Justin to be a local product (Caldwell is 20 miles from College Station) and we're proud to have him in the Aggie family," Watkins said. "He's a coach's son so he knows the game and he can really shoot the ball. He has excellent three-point range and also has the ability to take the ball to the basket."
TEXAS A&M'S 2002 EARLY RECRUITING CLASS
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown Acie Law IV G 6-3 170 Fr. Dallas, Texas (Kimball HS) Justin Loewe G 6-5 195 Fr. Caldwell, Texas (Caldwell HS) Marlon Pompey F 6-8 210 Fr. Toronto, Canada (Winchendon [Mass.] Prep)