The No. 119 ranked player in the class of 2006 Avery Jukes was really only thinking about Miami until this week. Now all of a sudden due to an impressive in-school visit and an unofficial campus visit, the 6-foot-8, 210-pound combo forward from South Gwinnett High School in Snellville, Ga., is headed to the SEC.

"Coach Gottfried came to school on Tuesday and made a really good impression," said Jukes. "That made me want to take an unofficial visit to Alabama. My visit today helped me make the decision to commit to Alabama."

A good impression is an understatement considering the fact that Jukes was not even considering Alabama until his in-school visit with Coach Gottfried.

"Actually I never thought about going to Alabama," he said. "Miami was the only school I was really considering.

"But Coach Gottfried being so into me as a prospect really got me considering Alabama. I was impressed with their graduation rate and the fact they have an Engineering School. Also the fact that they are building new facilities and Coach Gottfried has a great winning percentage made me want to take the visit."

Even though Jukes was only considering Miami at one point, many other schools were considering him. Auburn, Furman, Georgetown and Georgia all paid visits to South Gwinnett to meet with Jukes along with Miami and Alabama.

Jukes, who is quick off the floor and can also knock down the face up jumper, expects to play both the small forward and power forward position for Alabama. Already a very good rebounder, Jukes is making impressive strides in his perimeter game as well.

Playing for the Georgia Stars, Jukes will be in action at the Nike Memorial Day Classic in New Orleans.