A big man gets away, as 6-9 Brice Johnson commits to Tar Heels

For both the Tigers and the Gamecocks, a big one got away on Wednesday.

Brice Johnson, a 6-9 forward from Cordova, SC, announced his intention to sign with North Carolina’s Tar Heels.

A year ago, the battle for Johnson’s service looked like an in-state head-to-head between a pair of programs with strong needs for big men.

Last spring, Florida entered the picture. And over the summer, North Carolina offered.

The writing, at that stage, seemed to be on the wall.

Keeping the best and the brightest at home will be an ongoing priority for Brad Brownell and Darrin Horn in coming years. In Johnson’s case, at least the Gamecocks have the advantage of not seeing him twice a season, more or less, for the next four years.

Tigers Have Three Official Visitors: With the November basketball signing period approaching (Nov. 9-16), Brad Brownell and his staff played host to three official visitors last weekend – Phillip Nolan, a 6-10 center from Milwaukee, WI; Tonye Jekiri, a 6-11 center from Hialeah, FL; and Adonis Filer, a 6-2 point guard from Hammond, IN.

Nolan is ranked as the nation’s No. 14 center and No. 102 player overall by Rivals.

Jekiri is ranked as the nation’s No. 11 center by ESPN, and as the No. 148 player overall by Rivals.

Filer, who plays at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, MA, is rated No. 117 overall by Rivals and as the nation’s No. 28 point guard by Scout.

Clemson currently has three players committed for its 2011-12 signing class – 6-7 forward Jaron Blossomgame from Alpharetta, GA; 6-1 point guard Jordan Roper from Irmo, SC; and 6-8 Josh Smith from Charlotte, NC.

Lady Tigers’ Class Ranked 8th Nationally: Itoro Coleman and her Clemson staff have made big news on the women’s basketball recruiting front this fall while assembling what is shaping up to be the program’s best recruiting class ever.

Following up on last year’s 30th-ranked class, Clemson’s group of five players set to sign in November is currently ranked No. 8 nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz.

All five Clemson commitments are rated as four-star players by ESPN: Aisha Turner, a 5-7 guard from Atlanta, GA; Jonquel Jones, a 6-2 forward from Ellicott City, MD; Danaejah Grant, a 5-9 guard from Piscataway, NJ; Kayla Montgomery, a 6-3 post from Power Springs, GA; and Nyilah Jamison-Myers, a 6-3 post from Orangeburg, SC.

Clemson is one of three ACC schools currently ranked in ESPN’s top 10. Connecticut tops the rankings, followed by Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Duke, Maryland, Penn State, Clemson, West Virginia and Baylor.

All five committed players made their official visits during the Clemson-Auburn football weekend, and Turner committed during her visit.

ESPN notes: “The addition of Turner gives Clemson an impact defender on the perimeter, and along with Grant, tremendous speed in the backcourt, in a recruiting class that is loaded with size in the frontcourt.”