Stone commits to Florida
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Ever since his unofficial visit to Florida, many felt Keith Stone was a Florida lean. Monday night, he ended the speculation by committing to Gators coach Billy Donovan via his Twitter page. He becomes the fourth member of Florida's 2015 class.
"Billy Donovan is a great coach," Stone said. "He'll get me prepared for life after school, and academic-wise the University of Florida is great."
Florida's recruitment of Stone could be described as a classic case of the in-state school getting involved with an emerging prospect late and closing him out fast. Florida offered Stone on July 28, got him on campus, visited him at Zion Lutheran in Deerfield Beach and at home; and secured a commitment all in less than sixty days.
"There are not too many 6-foot-8 kids with his skill set along with his mobility and ability to score the ball in what I call college-type spots on the floor," Zion Lutheran Head Coach John Guion said. "If he was a 2016 kid, he would be in the top 10 of that class, which translates to a higher ceiling than anyone in the 2015 class."
The three-star forward took an unofficial visit to Florida on August 23 with his mother and Guion. It was his first visit to campus and was his first opportunity to sit down with the Florida coaches. Stone toured the campus, the basketball facilities, the Stephen C. O'Connell Center (where Florida plays their home games) and liked what he saw.
Donovan and Florida assistant coach Matt McCall traveled to Deerfield Beach to meet with Stone at Zion Lutheran a few weeks later, and then Stone took an official visit to Florida this past weekend. At which point the No. 127 prospect in the Rivals 150 had seen all he needed to.
"The atmosphere was great there," Stone said. "I had a fun time watching them practice and do everything. I learned how I could fit in their program. But mainly I wanted to meet the players and see what the chemistry was like between us."
Stone, who turned 17 in August, is ranked the No. 127 prospect in the Rivals150. He chose Florida over a group of finalists that included Alabama, South Carolina, Virginia Commonwealth and Virginia Tech. Stone was scheduled to take official visits to Alabama and South Carolina in September, but postponed them. Both visits have now been canceled.
The senior played his final AAU season for the Florida Vipers, one of the most successful teams in the country. Without a single player ranked in the Rivals Top 100, the Florida Vipers won the Ice Breaker Invitational, Gulf Coast Hoop Fest, Peach State, Battle of the Best Finals and reached Gulf Beach Challenge Elite Eight. They finished the year ranked No. 5 by fivestarbasketball.com.
Keith Stone joins Noah Dickerson, KeVaughn Allen and Kevarrius Hayes in Florida's 2015 class, which was ranked 12th in the nation by Rivals.com prior to Stone's commitment.
Russ Wood is a basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com and Inside the Gators. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.
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