Prized guard commits to Texas

Avery Bradley, a 6-3 guard who can both score and defend, has orally committed to play basketball at the University of Texas.

"Arguably the best defender in the whole country who also has the best mid-range game," his AAU coach Garry Ward said. "I've been coaching AAU ball for nine years and he's the best competitor I've ever coached."

Both Rivals and Scout rank Bradley in their top 10 national recruits for 2009 and both rate him the third-best guard overall. Bradley, who spent his sixth and seventh-grade years in Dallas, will play this season at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev. He averaged 25.7 points a game at Bellarmine Prep in Washington,where he formed one of the country's top backcourts with Abdul Gaddy, who recently committed to Arizona.

Texas has also received a commitment from Duncanville winger Shawn Williams, who some regard as the top high school player in the state of Texas. Already with two standout recruits, the Longhorns could leap into the elite category for this class if they get a commitment from 6-7 forward Jordan Hamilton of Compton, Calif. He is ranked No.5 nationally by Rivals.

Hamilton told Rivals this week that after visiting USC last weekend for the football game against Ohio State that the Trojans were among his final top three along with UT and Connecticut. Ward said that Bradley and Hamilton had formed a "close bond" and that he expected Hamilton to commit to Texas by the weekend.

-- Mike Jones