Michigan big man picks Boston College

This has been a summer of commitments among the top ten players in the exceptionally talented hoops class of 2007, and on Tuesday (Aug. 22), Saginaw high big man Joshua Southern gave his pledge and took his name off the board as well. The 6-9, 240-pound Southern announced his decision today at a press conference at Saginaw High.

"I decided I'm going to Boston College," Southern said at his press conference. "I didn't make the decision until this morning."

Southern had narrowed his list to Kentucky, Tennessee, Boston College, Wake Forest and Michigan State earlier in the summer after receiving requests for his services from all across the country. He is the Eagles' third commitment in the class, joining three-star wings Corey Raji of Westwood, N.J., and Rakim Sanders of Barrington, R.I.

He had maintained that distance from home would not be a factor throughout the process and said he was looking for the best fit for him. An unofficial visit to Boston College earlier this summer received high marks from Southern and met those requirements.

"I really liked it up there, I thought that it was beautiful there, everything was real nice," Southern told Volquest.com's Rob Lewis in July.

Ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 125 overall player in the country, the No. 32 power forward and a three-star prospect, Southern will give head coach Al Skinner's squad plenty of help in the post. As a junior, Southern averaged 16 points and 16 rebounds a game for Saginaw, improving on is 12 and 12 numbers from his sophomore season.

Check back with MichiganPreps.com later this week for more on Southern's decision from basketball recruiting analyst Craig Wind who was at today's press conference.