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Evans, Christian players
college-bound
From
Billy
Byler
- Saturday, November 11,
2006
  
National
Signing Day doesn't officially take place until the spring.
However, two
Columbia
County
athletes chose to secure their future as soon as possible.
Evans
High School
basketball player Matt Clark and Augusta Christian baseball player
Josh Whitaker signed to play at The Citadel and
Kennesaw
State
, respectively, on Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday was the first day of
the early signing period when high school athletes from all sports
except football and soccer may commit to a college.
The early signing period will
run through Wednesday.
"I could have waited 'til
the later signing period, but this is where I wanted to be,"
Clark
said. "I'm going to get a chance to play against some of the
best players in the nation, and (Citadel) Coach (Pat) Conroy said
I'll have a chance to play as a freshman."
The early commitment also will
allow
Clark
to concentrate on his senior season. The Knights are coming off
their best basketball season in school history and have the
potential to improve on that mark this year.
"The first advantage is
that he knows where he's going to spend the next four years. He
doesn't have to worry about that while he's playing his senior
year," said Evans athletic director and boys basketball coach
Kevin Kenny. "Second, if he does get injured somehow he still
has that opportunity to go there."
At Augusta Christian, Whitaker
also said he liked the idea of signing on the first day possible,
but the three-sport athlete did it for a different reason.
"I just wanted to get it
out of the way," Whitaker said. "You hear others
complaining about not knowing where they're going to college. Now
I can get this out of the way and focus on Laurence Manning."
Whitaker, who signed to play
baseball at
Kennesaw
State
, is also a starter on the football team. The Lions faced Laurence
Manning in the SCISA state semifinals Friday.
Whitaker won't immediately hit
the baseball diamond after football season ends. He's also a
starter on the boys basketball team.
"Josh isn't the only
three-sport athlete at Augusta Christian, but he excels in all
three," Lions baseball coach Craig Johnson said. "He's
always doing things to help his team win."
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