Nov. 13, 2008
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State men's basketball head coach Steve Fisher announced Thursday morning the signing of Eric Lawton to a National Letter of Intent. Lawton is the fifth member to sign with San Diego State and completes SDSU's signing class for the early signing period.
"Eric is a combo-guard who has the ability to create his own shot," Fisher said. "He is athletic, and very fast and will be a wonderful addition to the program."
Lawton, from West Valley High School in Hemet, Calif., is a 6-1, 160-pound guard who led West Valley to the 2008 CIF Southern Section Division III-AA title and a spot in the CIF Southern California Division I State Basketball Championships. Overall, West Valley finished the 2007-08 season with a 25-4 record and a 12-1 mark in the Sunbelt League. Individually, Lawton averaged 20.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.7 steals as a junior. His season led to him being named the Division III-A co-player of the year by the Southern California Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association and to the all-area second-team by The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, Calif.
On Wednesday, the Aztecs signed Kawhi Leonard, Chase Tapley, Malcolm Thomas and Alec Williams to National Letters of Intent. The quartet, along with Lawton, will be eligible to play in 2009-10.
A 6-6, 210-pound small forward, Leonard signed with SDSU after helping King High School in Riverside, Calif., to a 32-3 record (8-0 Ivy League) in 2007-08. King advanced to the CIF Division I Southern Section finals where Leonard went on to score 23 points against Compton Dominguez. As a junior, Leonard averaged 17.3 points and 6.5 rebounds. An all-area second-team choice by The Press-Enterprise, Leonard is rated among the best at his position by various recruiting sites. Rivals.com ranks him as a four-star player, the 14th -best small forward in America and the 76th-best player at any position. Meanwhile, Leonard is Scout.com's 25th-best small forward and is ranked 34th at his position by ESPN.com.
Tapley, a 6-2, 185-pound guard from Sacramento, Calif., led Sacramento High School to its first-ever CIF Division III state finals appearance in 2007-08 after helping the Dragons to their first CIF Northern California Regional Championship. In the state title game, Tapley went for 35 points, nine rebounds and four steals en route to averaging 22.2 points, 4.8 assists and 4.6 steals for the season. Tapley comes from a basketball family as his father played college basketball at Arkansas State.
Thomas is currently at San Diego City College after spending his 2007-08 freshman season at Pepperdine. During his stay in Malibu, Thomas averaged a team-best 8.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks and was the Waves' second-leading scorer at 12.5 points behind current Aztec Tyrone Shelley, while shooting 51.4 percent from the field. The 6-9, 220-pound forward played in all 32 games, made a team-high 28 starts and averaged a team-high 30.2 minutes. Prior to his stint at Pepperdine, Thomas was a standout player at nearby Crawford High School. In his final season as prep, Thomas averaged 13.2 points, 12.8 rebounds and 5.3 blocks in helping Crawford to a section title. In two seasons at Crawford, Thomas blocked 215 shots to rank seventh all-time in CIF San Diego Section history and had 168 in 2005-06. Thomas will be a junior in 2009-10.
A native of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., Williams inks with the Aztecs after earning all-Trinity League second-team honors during a 2007-08 season in which he averaged 14.4 points at JSerra Catholic High School. Williams, a 6-6, 230-pound forward, guided the Lions to a 19-9 record and was an Orange Holiday Classic all-tournament team selection as a junior. Prior to JSerra, Williams played at Aliso Niguel High School.
The five signees join a pair of players who are already on the 2008-09 roster and are currently sitting out this season in Pepperdine transfer Shelley and Brian Carlwell, who transferred from Illinois.
| 2009-10 Men's Basketball Incoming Class | |||||
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Cl.* | Hometown/Last School |
| Brian Carlwell^ | C | 6-10 | 295 | Jr. | Maywood, Ill. (Illinois) |
| Eric Lawton | G | 6-1 | 160 | Fr. | Hemet, Calif. (West Valley HS) |
| Kawhi Leonard | F | 6-6 | 210 | Fr. | Riverside, Calif. (King HS) |
| Chase Tapley | G | 6-2 | 185 | Fr. | Sacramento, Calif. (Sacramento HS) |
| Tyrone Shelley^ | G | 6-5 | 220 | So. | San Diego, Calif. (Pepperdine) |
| Malcolm Thomas | F | 6-9 | 220 | Jr. | San Diego, Calif. (SD City College) |
| Alec Williams | F | 6-6 | 230 | Fr. | San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (JSerra Catholic HS) |
* - 2009-10 classification | |||||