Cady Lalanne didn't make a big deal out of signing a basketball scholarship with Georgia on Wednesday. But that's OK because Oak Ridge High School plans to make a fuss about it Friday.
That's when the Orlando high school where Lalanne stars as a senior will hold a formal signing ceremony with the entire school in attendance.
"This is the biggest signing we've ever had in basketball," Oak Ridge coach Derek Heard said. "I can't tell you how proud we are of Cady."
The 6-foot-8, 225-pound power forward is rated a three-star recruit and is the first signee of the 2010 class for Georgia coach Mark Fox. The Bulldogs had hoped to land a second big man during the early signing period, which began Wednesday. But 6-foot-9 center Shawn Kemp Jr. of Canton (by way of Hargrave Military Academy) signed with Auburn on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Lalanne was reached by phone Wednesday in the Oak Ridge weight room. It's a place in which he plans to spend a lot of time between now and next summer when he reports to UGA.
"Now I've just got to go to work," Lalanne said. "It's an honor to go to Georgia. Now I need to work on my strength, getting faster, becoming a better ball-handler and learning the game a little better."
Heard thinks the Bulldogs nabbed a diamond-in-the-rough. "Cady's best years are in front of him; some people don't realize that. He's just going to get better this season and next summer, and that's what Coach Fox saw."
There were of dozens of signings across Metro Atlanta on Wednesday, and the signings will continue through the remainder of the early signing period for college sports that continues for the next week. Here's a quick rundown for Georgia's three Division I schools:
Georgia Tech men's basketball: The Yellow Jackets have a commitment from four-star shooting guard Jason Morris of Augusta. He attends The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn., and hadn't signed his national letter-of-intent as of Wednesday.
Georgia Tech women's basketball: The Lady Jackets signed Dawnn Maye, 5-foot-8 point guard from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Tyaunna Marshall, a 5-11 guard out of Upper Marlboro, Md.; and Kendra Long, a 5-9 shooting guard from Mays High Schoool.
Georgia Tech women's softball: Coach Sharon Perkins signed four players -- Lindsey Anderson of Johns Creek High School, Hayley Downs of Grayson, Alysha Rudnik of Buford and Ashley Thomas of McKinney, Texas.
Georgia women's basketball: The Lady Bulldogs received signed letters-of-intent from Arieal Johnson, a 6-foot-5 center from Oak Hill Academy in Virginia; and Ronika Ransford, a 5-7 point guard from Washington, D.C.
Georgia women's tennis: Coach Jeff Wallace signed Kate Fuller of Suwanee, one of the nation's top-ranked juniors and a finalist in the Girls 18s USTA National Championships.
Georgia women's softball: Signed Julia Westbrook of Brookwood High School.
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