Barnes adds three junior college players to 2010 recruiting class

Georgia State’s men’s basketball coach Rod Barnes bolstered his 2010 recruiting class with the addition of junior college standouts Eric Buckner, Brandon Mcgee and Josh Micheaux in the late signing period.

Buckner, perhaps the most prized of Barnes’ recruits this year, is ranked as the No. 9 junior college player in the country by Rivals.com.  The 6-10 power forward from Gulf Coast C.C. in Panama City chose Georgia State over high-major programs such as Maryland, Clemson, Georgia, Alabama, Missouri and Arkansas.

Despite playing his last season at Gulf Coast C.C. with a broken hand, Buckner managed to average 9.7 points and 5.7 rebounds a game.

The willingness of Georgia State’s coaching staff to allow Buckner to play the power forward position as opposed to center seemed to play an important role in Buckner’s decision to sign with the Panthers.

“They were recruiting me to play the four while other schools all told me they were going to be playing me at the five,” said Buckner in an interview with Rivals.com.

“It’s closer to home and I like the way they play,” Buckner continued.  “They are going to let me step out and shoot some threes, too.”

Joining Buckner in the front court next fall will be Brandon McGee, the 6-8 combo-forward from Wabash Valley C.C., where he averaged 14 points and 5.8 rebounds a game while shooting 39 percent from behind the three-point line.

Coming out of high school, McGee had a four-star rating by Scout.com, which ranked him as the No. 27 power forward in the country.  Rivals.com also ranked him as the No. 34 power forward in the country as well as tabbing him as the No. 116 overall player in the nation in the 2007 Rivals Top 150 class.

McGee already has experience playing at Division I level, as he originally signed with the University of Indiana, which he chose over offers from DePaul and Iowa.
 
His playing time at Indiana would be limited during his freshman year as violations and sanctions plagued the Hoosier program.

McGee would spend another year at the University of Auburn before deciding to pursue the junior college route to improve his academics.

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