Tech, Georgia each announce 3 early signees

<p>Georgia and Georgia Tech each signed three players on Wednesday's first day of the early signing period, with five of the six coming from in-state schools.</p><p>Tech and Georgia each signed players from Columbia High in Decatur.</p><p>Georgia signed three metro Atlanta players: Chris Barnes of Riverdale High, Jeremy Price of Columbia High and Zac Swansey of Dunwoody High.</p><p>Georgia Tech signed two in-state prospects _ Ganie Lawal of Norcross and Lance Storrs of Columbia High _ and Maurice Miller, a guard from Memphis, Tenn.</p><p>Georgia's signing class includes two top power forwards. Barnes, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward, averaged 17.3 points and 10.0 rebounds per game as a junior last season. Rivals.com rates Barnes the 36th best power forward prospect in the country.</p><p>Georgia coach Dennis Felton predicted Barnes "has a special future in front of him at Georgia."</p><p>"He is blessed with a big-time body and explosive athleticism," Felton said.</p><p>Price (6-9, 260), is ranked by Rivals as the No. 22 power forward. Scout.com also ranks Price as the 14th-best power forward in the nation.</p><p>Price averaged 18.9 points and 13.2 rebounds as Columbia won the 2006 Class AAAA state championship.</p><p>Swansey (6-1, 165) helped lead Dunwoody to its second straight AAA state title last year, averaging 19.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game.</p><p>For Tech, Lawal and Miller rank among the nation's top 100 prep seniors.</p><p>"This group fits every need that we identified going into this recruiting season," said Tech coach Paul Hewitt.</p><p>"We identified Gani very early, and we watched Lance grow as a player. Mo Miller, after seeing him last January, became a major priority for us."</p><p>Lawal is ranked among the top 10 power forwards in the nation by Scouthoops.com. He averaged 17.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.7 blocked shots while leading Norcross High School to the AAAAA state championship last season.</p><p>"Gani is a very important young man for the future of Georgia Tech basketball," Hewitt said. "Not only is he an outstanding talent, but he's also shown us through his academic work and how he conducts himself in the court that he can be one of the future leaders of this program."</p><p>Miller, an all-state choice at Raleigh Egypt High School in Memphis, is rated the nation's No. 15 point guard by Scouthoops.com.</p><p>Storrs, a shooting guard, averaged 14 points per game as he helped Columbia win the state championship.</p>

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