Habel to Florida State

The No. 9 center and No. 51 player in the Rivals150, Jerome Habel, joins Isaiah Swann, the No. 25 player in the Rivals150, and Jason Rich, the No. 28 player in the Rivals150 as the third member of Florida State’s 2004 recruiting class with his recent commitment to the Seminoles.

“He had been thinking about this for some time as far as going to Florida State,” said Habel’s coach Lonnie Brooks of Marriott Hospitality Public Charter High School in Washington D.C. “He visited George Washington and then went to Florida State this past weekend. The atmosphere and institution won him over. He really liked the guys and coaches and felt like it was an environment he wanted to be in. After watching the Wake Forest game, he saw where he could fit right into the rotation or even start there in the fall.”

The 6-foot-9, 196-pound Habel still has not attained a qualifying test score. Coach Brooks said he was 100 points shy of a qualifying score on his first attempt at the SAT but that Habel and Florida State are confident he will achieve a qualifying score.

“Florida State will stand by him regardless,” said Coach Brooks.

Cincinnati, the other top contender to land Habel, conducted an in the home visit with him, but he never made it to Cincinnati for a visit.

“Coach Huggins and Coach Kennedy came in for a home visit, but Florida State had been at the top of his list for some time,” said Coach Brooks.

Coach Brooks also mentioned that Habel registered a triple double in his last outing with 17 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 blocks.