Mike White and Florida basketball have added another piece to their future puzzle. Top-100 recruit Noah Locke has committed to play for the Gators.
Ranked as the No. 70 recruit in the class of 2018, Noah Locke will be an immediate difference-maker for head coach Mike White and the Florida Gators when he arrives on campus. Locke is a 6’2″, 160-pound point guard from Maryland.
Locke posted his commitment on Twitter on Oct. 3 and chose Florida over Ohio State, Michigan, Providence, and Xavier, who were all members of his final five. Locke made visits to each of these top five schools, but ended up going south to Gainsville.
The Locke commitment is another decision that enhances the theory that whoever gets the last visit has the best chance at a recruit. Locke’s commitment to Florida came just after he received a visit from Coach White (Sept. 20th and 27th) as well as after his official visit to campus (Sept. 30).
It was not just Locke who visited Florida that weekend though. Fellow top-100 recruit (No. 28) Andrew Nembhard was also on campus that weekend and committed to play for the Gators on Oct. 2.
This recruiting duo is a great start to the class of 2018. Not only are they great individual signings, but the two players should gel together well and make for a dangerous one-two punch in the SEC.
According to Scout.com, Locke is off to a great start in the Nike EBYL circuit as a sharpshooter.
"Through 21 games playing for Team Melo in the Nike EYBL, Locke connected on 45.4-percent of his three-pointers and averaged 17.4 points a game."
For Florida, this is an awesome time to receive a commitment for their 2018-19 season at point guard. KeVaughn Allen will be a junior this season as a starting guard and he will be a senior when Locke gets on campus. This will give Locke a great veteran leader to teach him the ropes of SEC play while also grooming him for the next step in his career. In addition, Chris Chiozza graduates after this season, leaving another hole.
After Allen graduates, it will be up to Locke to be the guard of the future under Coach White. It seems like he has all the talent to get it done, but Florida is a program rich in athletic tradition and playing guard in the SEC is no easy thing to do.
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Next: 2017-18 season preview for Florida
For Florida basketball and head coach Mike White, this is a huge commitment. Noah Locke is one of the top point guards in the recruiting class of 2018 and it is a position of need for the future of the Gators. With Locke on board, the future of the position is truly “locked” up for Florida.