Saint Joseph's gets first basketball recruit for 2011

Saint Joseph's is going to trot out one of its youngest teams in memory this season. Many of the incoming freshmen come highly touted, but it takes more than raw talent to make a team.

And that, Chris Wilson hopes, is where he will come in. The 6-2 point guard from Terry Sanford High in Fayetteville, N.C., has made a commitment to become the first member of the SJU Class of 2011 and said his biggest strength is: "My leadership and presence at my position, the poise that I bring and the aggressive style of play that I bring to an offense, really just leading my teammates."

Wilson led his teammates so well last season that his school was 31-0 until losing in the state championship game. His freshman year, Wilson's team was 26-4 and lost in the Elite Eight of the states. His sophomore year, they were 28-4 and also lost in the state championship game. So his high school record is 85-9.

St. Joe's has two young point guards in sophomores Justin Crosgile and Tay Jones. How they do this season will have a lot to do with how the Hawks fare. When they are juniors, Wilson will be coming on board.

Wilson has not visited campus, but he has friends of the family who live in the Philadelphia area that touted him on the community support and history of St. Joe's basketball.

Hawks assistant Dave Duda started the recruiting process at the end of Wilson's sophomore year. By the end, Wilson had a lot of choices. He also looked closely at Stanford, Boston College, Old Dominion and Davidson.

Basketball is in Wilson's blood. His mother, Amy Garner, set high school three-point shooting records in South Carolina. Her mother was Amy's coach in high school. His father, Johnny Wilson, was a Division III player.

The Hawks have two more scholarships to use for their next class. They have a lot of superior athletes in the program. What they don't have is a killer shooter. That will be next on the recruiting agenda.