Hokies to Sign Three for Men’s Basketball

The early signing period for men’s basketball began Wednesday, and though Seth Greenberg
and his coaching staff have not made any announcements as of yet, the Hokies are
expected to receive the signatures of three players for the 2008
recruiting class. These players will be freshmen at Virginia Tech next season.
The Hokies will sign a true point guard, a power forward, and a true center.

The point guard is Kendall
Durant, a 6-3, 185-pound recruit from New Hampton Prep in New Hampton, NH.
He is a 3-star prospect by Rivals and Scout, and he is listed as a Top 200
player nationally by Prep Stars’ Brick Oettinger.

Durant played for the Boo Williams AAU team over the summer, so there is some
connection with the state of Virginia. He is ranked the #18 post-grad player in
the nation by Scout.com. He chose Virginia Tech over Tulsa, Penn State, South
Florida, St. John’s and South Carolina.

Durant hasn’t been on the national scene for long. He never played AAU
basketball until this past summer, which is when the Hokies first began to get
involved with his recruitment. He visited Virginia Tech this past weekend.

Victor
Davila is a 6-8, 230-pounds power forward from Starmount High School in
Hamptonville, NC. He is originally from Puerto Rico. He averaged 21 points, 10
rebounds and four blocks per game as a junior.

Davila is the most highly-regarded player in Tech’s recruiting class. Brick
Oettinger rates him as a Top 100 player, and Scout.com lists him at #94 in the
nation. Rivals.com rates him as the #133 player in the nation. He verbally
committed to the Hokies back on September 17.

Davila chose Virginia Tech over Clemson, Iowa State, Charlotte and Wake
Forest. Virginia Tech’s academic support system is one of the major reasons he
chose the Hokies.

The final player who signed today is 6-11, 260-pound center Gene
Swindle. Swindle hails from Miami, FL, where he plays for Gulliver Prep. He
is a true center who moves his feet well and has good hands. He is a true low
post player, which is something the Hokies haven’t had in quite some time.

Swindle originally committed to South Florida, but he opened up his
commitment. Always dreaming of playing in the ACC, he visited Virginia Tech over
the weekend and received a scholarship offer. He chose the Hokies over South
Florida and Penn State. Swindle is listed as a Top 200 player by Brick Oettinger.

Redshirting his first year on campus has been mentioned as a possibility for
Swindle, but that will be decided at a later date.

Here is a look at Virginia Tech’s projected 2008-09 roster, with the three
newest signees included.

That’s a total of 13 scholarship players, which is the NCAA limit for men’s
basketball. If the Hokies sign anymore players for this class, it’s because they
are expecting attrition from one or more of the returning players.