Three of DeKalb County’s most talented basketball players have already decided where they plan to play college basketball next season.
Arabia Mountain’s Bakari Copeland, Decatur’s Jordan Dillard, and Moses Johnson of Greenforest-McCalep Christian Academy have signed or will sign their letters of intent to their schools of choice.
Johnson on Nov.14 signed her letter of intent to play at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in front of family, friends and teammates. Johnson said she was excited and overjoyed about signing with UT- Chattanooga.
“I have so many emotions at one time,” she said. “But, I’m very happy.”
The 5-foot-11 center has led Greenforest in scoring and assists for the past three years, averaging 28 points and six assists. She scored her 1,000th point last season against Whitefield Academy on Jan. 17, 2012. She scored a career high of 45 points last season, and finished as the second highest scorer in Georgia. For the last three years, she has made the All-Region Team.
Johnson said she chose UT-Chattanooga because she loves the school’s environment.
“The coaches were amazing,” she said. “I had an immediate connection to them. And the players were awesome.”
Johnson, who is good at driving to the basket, said she has been working to better her shooting skills.
“That’s what [the coaches] are expecting me to do–to be a shooter,” she said. I’m hoping to go down there and knock down some buckets.”
Dillard signed her letter of intent to play at Villanova University on Nov. 15. She said signing with Villanova was an exciting time in her life and for her basketball career.
“I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my life,” she said.
The six-foot power forward, who averages 20 points per game, is a three-star recruit, according to espn.com and is ranked No. 56 among power forwards in the nation.
She chose Villanova over Georgia Tech and Memphis because she wanted to get away from the south.
“[Going up north] is something that I’ve always felt I needed to do,” she said. “I’m looking forward to going up to the Big East [Conference] program that they’re involved in.”
Dillard said she will bring her leadership, scoring and rebounding skills to Villanova next season.
Copeland is set to sign his letter of intent to the University of South Carolina-Upstate this month at Arabia Mountain.
The shooting guard is Arabia Mountain’s first Division 1 basketball signee. Copeland said he is happy finally to be able to sign his letter.
“Now, I can just focus on my team and win the state championship,” he said.
Copeland said he chose to sign with South Carolina-Upstate because it was the best fit for him.
“Not just for basketball for my education as well,” he said. “I felt like they have a real good plan for me after college.”
During his junior year, Copeland had a breakout season, scoring 310 points for a 14.1 average, which was seventh best in the DeKalb County statistics. He was also in the Top 25 in the county in three-point field goal percentage (37.0) and free throw percentage (71.0).
Copeland was also named to the DeKalb County Tip-off Club All-County Team and the All-Region 5-AAA First Team selections last year.
He said South Carolina-Upstate will be getting a good leader with many offensive tools.
“I’ll be bringing a lot of scoring abilities, a lot of pesky defense and rebounding,” he said.
Before leaving for college Copeland said he wants to win a state championship and be one of the top scorers in the county.