Dion Waiters received national attention two and a half years ago by orally committing to Syracuse before playing in his first high school basketball game.

Yesterday morning, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound guard made good on his commitment to the Orange by signing a binding national letter of intent.

"I can't wait to get up there," said the South Philadelphia resident, who's a senior at Life Center Academy in Burlington, N.J. "It's going to be crazy, man."

Waiters admits there were times when he questioned his decision to stay committed to Syracuse.

As one of the nation's top recruits, he continued to be pursued by college coaches. Waiters almost changed his mind and went to Memphis. The 17-year-old also thought about chasing a professional career overseas instead of going to college.

Waiters was fascinated with Brandon Jennings' decision to play professionally in Italy for a season instead of playing collegiately at Arizona. In June's NBA draft, Jennings was picked 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks.

"When you hear stuff like that, you just start thinking," he said of following Jennings' path. "I was thinking a lot."

Over that dream, Waiters said his primary focus was improving his grades and SAT score in order to gain freshman eligibility next season.

Another goal is to become the area's fifth McDonald's all-American in six seasons, following Maalik Wayns (2009), Tyreke Evans (2008), Gerald Henderson (2006), and Wayne Ellington (2006).

"That's my first goal," Waiters said. "I'm a guy from South Philly who put in all of this hard work. Hopefully, it pays off."

He gets plenty of credit from the people who do the national rankings. Just listen to Dave Telep, Scout.com's national basketball recruiting analyst. "Dion is one of those guys that at the end of the day, he's got a blueprint on how to score," Telep said. "And he has a powerful body."

Waiters averaged 17 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists for Life Center last season before suffering a season-ending broken left ankle in the eighth game.

"I think he is going to be an immediate impact player in college" because his style of play fits perfectly, Life Center coach Wilson M. Arroyo said. "Besides that, Syracuse has made a commitment to him in his position. And that's the reason why he's committing to them."

Waiters is also a close friend of Syracuse guard Scoop Jardine, a former Neumann-Goretti star.

Life Center is Waiters' fourth school in four years. He briefly attended Bartram as a freshman and was scheduled to play on the Maroon Waves' basketball team. But before he had a chance to play, his mother, Monique Brown, had him transferred to Southern, where he also didn't play.

Waiters accepted a scholarship from Syracuse while playing for Delaware County's Team Final AAU squad in an event that spring after his freshman year.

Looking to bring up his grades, he transferred to South Kent School, a boarding school in Connecticut, for his sophomore year. Wanting to come closer to home, Waiters enrolled at Life Center last year.

Contact staff writer Keith Pompey at 610-313-8029 or kpompey@phillynews.com.