DEL.ICIO.USGEORGIA HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Favors will take time choosing college option
No. 1 prospect in the country likely to delay commitment
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
South Atlanta basketball coach Michael Reddick laughs when he talks about it now. A year ago, he looked outside his office and saw Florida’s Billy Donovan, Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun and USC’s Tim Floyd.
There were so many big-name college basketball coaches in line to talk to Reddick that he can’t even remember the other two who were standing there. But Reddick knew this gathering of coaching elites were not there for a campus tour.
Jason Getz/jgetz@ajc.com
South Atlanta’s Derrick Favors will likely decide between Memphis, North Carolina State, Georgia and Georgia Tech sometime in the spring.
THE FAVORS FILE
• Ranked as the No. 1 high school prospect by Scout.com and No. 4 by Rivals.com.
• Holds the school record with 32 rebounds in a game, a mark he set his freshman year.
• Loves to listen to T.I. and Young Jeezy and is a "pretty good dancer," according to his teammates.
• Will decide between Memphis, North Carolina State, Georgia and Georgia Tech sometime in the spring. • Models his game after Tim Duncan.
• Rooted for Memphis during the NCAA championship game.
• Traveled to Senegal and Mali in Africa this summer as part of an adidas national team.
• Photos: Favors in action
• Blog: Georgia or Tech
“They all wanted to talk to me about Derrick Favors,” Reddick said. “There were some of the biggest names in coaching waiting on my doorstep. You’d be walking down the hall and see someone like Tim Floyd and think, ‘I know him.’ It was certainly unique.”
The visits to Reddick’s doorstep have slowed, but they’re not likely to cease. Wednesday is the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period for college basketball. Hundreds of Division I hopefuls across the country will sign and commit to spend their college careers at places like Florida, Connecticut and USC.
Favors likely will not be one of them. The Hornets’ 6-foot-9, 220-pound senior forward, one of the most highly sought after recruits in the nation, probably will wait.
Scout.com lists Favors as the No. 1 prospect in the country, and Rivals.com places him at No. 4. Aside from the occasional visit, Reddick receives 12-13 calls a day about Favors.
“I joke that I’m like his private secretary,” Reddick said. “I’ve never dealt with this. It’s enough that my wife gets upset, but she understands.”
The attention is enough to turn even the most average of high school kids into an egomaniac. Fortunately for Favors, that isn’t the case.
Despite being one of the biggest names in this year’s recruiting class, Favors has mastered humility to go with everything else he can do on a basketball court.
Big numbers, big talent
There are very few things in the game of basketball that Favors can’t do. In fact, his statistics make it look like he’s playing against children, instead of running the court against Class AAA competition.
Favors averaged 23.7 points a game last season to go with 17.1 rebounds and 9.1 blocks. He produced 19 triple-doubles and 26 double-doubles his junior season, and he shot 31 percent from the 3-point line.
In terms of basketball talent he falls somewhere between Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan with his presence at the offensive and defensive ends. Think those comparisons are too extreme for a 17-year-old? Just ask his AAU coach.
“When he figures out that he can dominate a game from all points of the game, he’ll be unstoppable,” said Atlanta Celtics coach Jammar Stegall, who is Favors’s AAU coach in the summer. “He’s probably the most talented kid I’ve ever coached in the program. He doesn’t get excited. He doesn’t get rattled. He’s the perfect coach’s player.”
Stegall’s words carry some weight. Atlanta Hawks players Josh Smith and Randolph Morris are both Celtics alumni. Stegall saw all he needed this summer.
The Celtics were playing one of the best AAU teams in the country in a national tournament in June. Early foul trouble forced Stegall to sit his brightest star. As it turned out, only a half of basketball was enough.
“He picked up three fouls in the first three minutes of the game, and I sat him down,” Stegall said. “I put him back in after the half and he virtually demolished those kids. We were down 20 at the half and won by 10. He finished the game with one or two blocks away from a triple-double.
“This was against a team of elite players. I’d never seen anything like it.”
Shunning the limelight
There’s a steep contrast from the player Stegall mentions to the one who walks the halls of South Atlanta High School. Favors, the student, sticks out only because of his overwhelming height or the occasional reprimand for carrying an iPod.
“His name is so big, but he always stays away from the limelight,” teammate Andre Malone said. “He always stays focused. He always knows where he’s from. He never gets the big head. That’s what amazes me is that he’s never the one to brag or boast.”
Ask any of his teammates, and they’re quick to tell you how cool Favors is. He likes hip-hop. He has been known to attend a few football games. If he’s not on the court, you’ll find him playing NCAA Basketball on an Xbox 360.
And while this is not easy information to come by, Favors really likes to dance, and on occasion, sing anything from T.I. to “Hey Young Girl” by Lloyd.
“He probably won’t tell you this, but he can dance,” said a teammate who preferred to remain anonymous. “He’ll joke around and try to sing or dance. He’s not bad.”
His teammates understand two things that the casual observer might not: Favors, the student, is one of the most polite and soft-spoken budding stars you’ll ever meet. And Favors, the player, doesn’t have to say much to be intimidating.
“You can tell by his expressions,” South Atlanta point guard Rodrick Pitts said. “You know from his body language and his facial expressions that he’s mad. He might say something little like, ‘You gotta pick it up,’ but that’s all.”
When Favors isn’t working on his game during practice, he’s usually working on it somewhere else. Favors uses the time that most kids spend partying or chasing girls by trying to get better at his sport.
“I didn’t even know he used to play basketball,” said Hornets teammate Derrick Murray, who has known Favors since sixth grade. “I thought he was just a lanky kid. But then that was all he did. He just played basketball all the time.
“He did play football one year, his seventh grade year. But he was horrible.”
The hard work got Favors selected to an adidas national team this summer, and the special group of players traveled to Africa. That week-long trip did nothing but help the focus of the rising superstar.
“It was like visiting a third-world country,” Favors said. “It was tough to see. After going over there, I don’t complain about nothing. I mean you see how rough they have it over there, and you know you’re lucky.”
Working to get better
Reddick has had an eye on Favors since his eighth-grade season. He knew right away he had something special.
“His eighth-grade year, I saw things come out of him that I had never seen an eighth-grader do,” Reddick said. “He wanted to learn. He wanted to get better. I remember telling him in middle school to do his pushups every night to make sure he gets stronger. The middle school kids were doing 50 or so. He asked me how many my kids were doing [in high school].
“I told him 100 to 150, and he said that was how many he was going to do. I knew right away he wanted to be the best.”
What once was a tall, lanky kid with good instinct for blocking shots has developed into a force of nature, who can occasionally step out for a 3-pointer or mid-range jumper.
It’s that skill that Reddick has forced Favors to develop every season. And it’s that skill he hopes will land him South Atlanta’s first state title.
The Hornets finished 27-3 last season, but have lost in the first round of the state playoffs for three consecutive seasons. It’s not a glass ceiling that has gone unnoticed by Favors.
“Last year was tough, but we’re better now,” Favors said. “We don’t just want to get past the first round. We want to win a state championship. That’s our goal.”
Choosing the next step
If there wasn’t an NCAA rule forcing high school seniors into the collegiate ranks, there is little reason to think Favors would enroll this fall.
“I’m OK with the rule,” Favors said. “But I think if I got a high enough scouting report, I might go [pro]. It’s a hard thing to pass up.”
Favors still has plenty of options. His final four schools include Memphis, North Carolina State, Georgia and Georgia Tech. The culling process seemed predicated on distance. Favors is very close to his mother and grandmother, and both have sat through many of the college sales pitches.
Reddick said he is happy with the options his blooming player has, but he will not tell him what to do.
“I told him and his mom, with those schools you have there, you can’t go wrong with any of them,” Reddick said. “I won’t tell you who I told them [is the best], but for the most I want him to make his own decision. He won’t have a problem doing that.”
So who will he end of choosing? Who knows. Favors doesn’t seem to be worried about it.
“I’m just going to wait until the spring signing period,” Favors said. “I like the four coaches I’m talking to. They’re cool. But I want to wait.
“Leagues or conferences don’t matter. It’s just basketball. I’ll just pick who I’m comfortable with.”
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