Tatum earning interest

Cameron Tatum, a one time Charlotte commitment, was one of the top prospects as last weekend's Real Deal on the Hill tournament. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Tucker (Ga.) High School quickly became a coveted prospect in the 2006 class and hopes to open up even more doors for himself after the Kingwood Classic.

The No. 64 ranked player in the class of 2006 picked up where he left off during the high school season. At the Real Deal, Tatum showed off his deep perimeter game but also utilized his high level of athleticism to score at the rim.

Suiting up for the Atlanta Celtics, Tatum will travel to Houston this weekend for the Kingwood Classic. He hopes to show the college coaches that last weekend wasn't just a one time show.

"I think I'm playing with more to prove now," Tatum said. "People used to just think of me as a slasher but I put the time in the gym to change that. I wanted to shoot better so I could stretch the zone defenses out. I wanted to shoot a little further from the three point line because I knew that if I could stretch the zone out, I could get better looks for my big man inside. I wanted to just really become a better all around player."

Since returning home, Tatum said he has heard from Wake Forest, Miami, Kansas, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Tennessee and Charlotte. Prior to the Real Deal, Tatum visited Tennessee and says the SEC school is still looking like the top team.

"It was good to go up there. It's a good campus and their staff is great. The fans were really wonderful. Everywhere we went they knew who we were," Tatum said. "As of right now, they are still the favorite. Until I take some other visits, they are the team to beat."

Two other schools are shaping up to get a visit from the four-star prospect as well.

"Me and my dad have been talking with some schools about taking some more visits," Tatum said. "I know I'll be going to Georgia and we are looking at Wake Forest. They asked for my transcripts to see if they can make it an official visit."

Tatum said he will take a visit to Georgia on May 5 and Wake Forest could follow shortly thereafter.

There are still concerns about Tatum's current academic standing and whether or not he will officially qualify this year or move on to prep school next year.

"I've been doing good in my classes and my counselors told me that I'll probably have a good chance of pulling it off at the end of the semester. The higher my GPA is, then I don't need to have as high of a test score. I'm doing what I got to do as far as my GPA."