November 15, 2002
LaKeith Blanks of Laurinburg, N.C., has signed a national letter-of-intent to play college basketball at Texas A&M, Aggies head coach Melvin Watkins said Friday.
Blanks completes Watkins' recruiting class for next season, joining Acie Law IV of Dallas, Justin Loewe of Caldwell and Marlon Pompey of Toronto, Canada.
"We're very excited about this class," Watkins said. "As we continue to add pieces to the puzzle, this may be our best recruiting class to date. It certainly addresses our immediate needs."
Blanks, a 6-5 forward from Laurinburg (N.C.) Prep, is rated as the No. 10 small forward and No. 47 overall prospect by RivalsHoops. Hoop Scoop rates him as the 19th best 5th year prep player in the nation, while ESPN.com rates him No. 70 on its list of the nation's top 100 prospects.
Blanks averaged 18.2 points 5.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game as a junior. He also competed at the 2002 adidas ABCD Camp in Las Vegas. In addition to A&M, he was recruited by Maryland, Connecticut, Georgetown, Virginia, Syracuse, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Temple, George Washington, Memphis, Massachusetts and Boston College.
"LaKeith is an exceptional athlete," Watkins said. "We know he can score, but the trait we like most about LaKeith is that he has a reputation for competing each and every night."
TEXAS A&M'S 2002 EARLY RECRUITING CLASS
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown LaKeith Blanks F 6-5 180 Fr. Laurinburg, N.C. (Laurinburg Prep) 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)