MOBILE, Ala. ? University of South Alabama head men’s basketball coach Ronnie Arrow announced Wednesday that C.J. Garner has signed a National Letter-of-Intent and will join the program in the fall.
Garner, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound native of Silver Spring, Md., will have four years of eligibility after graduating from Springbrook High School in the spring.
“C.J. brings to the table an explosiveness and the ability to get our team into the offensive sets that we want to run,” Arrow said. “He can push the ball up the floor when needed, and he has the ability to set up the team in the offenses and defenses the way we want our point guard to be able to do.”
Garner helped lead the Blue Devils to the state 4A championship and a 25-2 finish last year, which included scoring a team-high 23 points and handing out a game-best six assists as SHS overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to defeat Thomas Stone High 61-57. For the season, he averaged 21 points, 3.2 rebounds, three assists and 1.7 steals per contest while being named the Montgomery County Gazette Player of the Year and first-team all-county. A participant in the 2008 Under Armour Capital Classic, Garner was also selected second-team all-metro by the Washington Post, the school’s most valuable player and the MVP of the Springbrook Holiday Tournament.
With his performance as a senior, the guard scored the 1,000th point of his career last March.
As a junior, Garner posted 19 points per game to earn first-team all-county and honorable mention all-metro accolades. He was also chosen the Blue Devils’ MVP after helping them to a 19-4 record and a berth in the region playoffs, where they would fall to the eventual state champion.
A three-year letterwinner at SHS, Garner first played for the Blue Devils as a sophomore. He was also a member of the DC Triple Threat summer league team.
USA finished 26-7 overall in 2007-08, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Sun Belt Conference regular season East Division title with a 16-2 mark.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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