Even though he's lived in Louisiana all his life, Langston Galloway has long felt right at home in Philadelphia because he has relatives in the area.

One of those family connections is St. Joseph's assistant basketball coach Geoff Arnold, who is Langston's uncle. Arnold is also a reason why the 6-3 guard turned down offers from LSU, Baylor, Cincinnati and Texas A&M, among others, and gave St. Joe's an oral commitment.

"This is my second home," said Langston, who will be a senior at Christian Life Academy in Baton Rouge. "I've been coming here in the summer practically my whole life and I've played in the summer with some of the guys around here. Also, I have family here and he [Arnold] has taught me some things."

Galloway's mother, Jeralyn Galloway, is Arnold's sister.

According to some scouting reports, Galloway is talented enough to have an immediate impact on the Hawks as a freshman in 2010-11. He is ranked No. 98 among the Rivals.com top 150 players for the class of 2010, and No. 26 among the nation's shooting guards.

A posting on ESPN.com provided by Scouts, Inc. had the following evaluation of Langston after his impressive performance at the Nike Memorial Day Classic:

"A very good athlete who is rangy and has very good ball quickness. He is able to get by his defender with a quick first step, is long and bouncy and is very crafty on his way to the basket. He has good range on his jump shot and is able to make a step-back three and he is consistent from the free-throw line. The kid is a winner who competes until the buzzer sounds."

Langston averaged 21.3 points, five rebounds and three assists for Christian Life Academy, which he led to the Louisiana state Class A semifinals.

"My school is small and I think I'll feel comfortable at a small school like St. Joe's," he said. "I'll do whatever the coaches want me to do to help the team win."

Langston is the third Rivals Top 150 player from the class of 2010 to commit to St. Joe's. He joins 6-9 C.J. Aiken of Plymouth-Whitemarsh, who is ranked No. 42, and 6-7 Darius Quarles from Burlington Life Center Academy, who is ranked No. 141.

Contact staff writer Ray Parrillo at 215-854-2743 or rparrillo@phillynews.com.