With recent commitments from local standouts Nick King and Markel Crawford, the Tigers’ 2013 recruiting class is beginning to take shape. While talented wings can shore up the perimeter, the class is missing a presence in the paint.
Insert 6-foot-9 225-pound Dwight Coleby, Bahamas native and senior forward from Piney Woods High School (Miss.). Coleby visited the University of Memphis unofficially in June and the Tigers got his first official visit this weekend.
“Everything this weekend went really well,” said Piney Woods head coach Lemuel Jones on Sunday afternoon. “He met with academic people, toured facilities on and off campus, and basically had a chance to sit down with Coach Pastner and talk about how he’ll fit into this program over the next few years.”
Jones made the trip to Memphis with his star player, getting to see the University of Memphis staff’s pitch first hand. According to him, Josh Pastner made it well known that Coleby is a priority for this Tigers’ class.
“He stressed how important it was for them to land him. One of the biggest problems they’ve had in the past is bigs and rebounding, and they think Dwight fits the mold to a T.”
Coleby felt the love as well.
“They’ve made me a big priority,” said Coleby. “They preached to me over and over and they wanted me to go ahead and commit now.”
The forward left without pledging for the Tigers, but Memphis cemented its place as one of Coleby’s leading suitors.
“I’d give it a 95 out of 100. Everything was great. Memphis is at the top in terms of schools.”
Georgia, Ole Miss and Mississippi State are the others in running, and they will be receiving official visits in the near future. The big man is slated to visit the Georgia beginning this Friday, Mississippi State on September 22nd, and Ole Miss on October 6th.
Upon finishing the visits, Coleby plans on making an official decision.
“He’s going to sign early. If everything goes as planned as he takes his visits, he’s going to come back and try to have a decision made before basketball practice starts.”
Being forced to play junior varsity basketball as a junior due to regulations related to his move to the United States, Coleby has seemingly flown under the radar. However, Jones thinks his big man is a gem.
“He’s kind of unknown to a lot of people, but he’s a really good basketball player. He’s a high energy, athletic guy. But you’re talking about a guy that can score too. He’s not just one dimensional.”
Coleby has a motor that does not stop, runs the floor like a deer, and has tremendous length. Those strengths allow him to impact the game defensively and with the ability to rebound outside of his area.
As a junior, Coleby averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds per game. Heading into his senior campaign Piney Woods, he’s looking to build on those numbers and continue to develop his game.
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