Westbrook picks Tigers

If you are a scoring point guard, go to Memphis. That seems to be the sentiment since John Calipari took over the head job. Guys like Dajuan Wagner and most recently Darius Washington have had success with Tigers. Now Arizona native Lawrence Westbrook is hoping to do the same. The 6-foot, 190-pound guard verbally committed to Memphis this week.

Westbrook left the desert to attend Winchendon Prep just outside of Boston. His father played at UMass and that connection to the Minutemen, Calipari's last college job, has helped the family get to know the Tigers head man.

"His dad is from Holy Oak which is nearby UMass and he got to know Cal when he was there," Winchendon head coach Mike Byrnes said. "So Mr. Westbrook felt like he knew his son was going to get a good situation there at Memphis."

Like Wagner and Washington, Westbrook knows how to get the ball through the cynlinder. He was one of the most prolific scorers in the nation last year, averaging nearly 40 points a contest at Chandler High School in Arizona.

"He can really, really score the ball. People say he's like Tim Hardaway but Tim is a lot more athletic. Lawrence is more like World B. Free," Byrnes said. "He can score in so many ways. He can go left, go right, finish at the rim, scores from three, has a great ball fake. The kid is really crafty. He can score in bunches.

"A lot of people said he's a selfish kid and a bad teammate but I haven't seen that at all. In fact, he's almost been too unselfish here. He's been unbelievable."