NEW YORK — Mount Vernon point guard Jabarie Hinds made his college announcement Tuesday in the SNY.tv studio in Manhattan.
“I made my final decision and I’ll be heading to West Virginia University, the Mountaineers,” said the 6-foot, 170-pound Hinds, the No. 26 point guard in the Class of 2011 according to Rivals.
Hinds, who averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 steals and 4.0 rebounds last season and has scored more than 1,000 points in his Mount Vernon career, chose the Mountaineers over UConn, UNLV and UCLA.
“My visit went really good, the atmosphere down there, the fans,” Hinds said. “They really care about their basketball players. The coaching staff is great. I visited with the academic advisor. She’s a nice lady. She’s going to take care of me off the court, and in school making sure I’m doing the right thing.”
Hinds follows current West Virginia sophomore forward Kevin Jones, who also starred for Bob Cimmino at Mount Vernon.
“Kevin Jones is a great guy,” Hinds said. “He always does the right thing. We spent a lot of time together, talked about a lot of stuff. It was a good time.”
Cimmino said Hinds and Detroit Pistons guard Ben Gordon are the two best players he’s ever coached, and that Hinds has the potential to be better than Gordon.
“Jabarie and Ben, it’s yet to be determined,” he said. “They’re the 1-2, I just don’t know what order they’re in.
As for what Hinds will bring to West Virginia, Cimmino said: “Jabarie Hinds will bring an energetic focus to his determination and hard work. He’s just a talented young man who goes all out and will aim to please the coaching staff.
“His strengths are his constant effort,” he added. “Jabarie takes no plays off, ever. He plays defense like no guard that I’ve seen before. Jabarie’s one weakness that he needs to overcome his his desire to over-drive, over-penetrate and if he’s going to last a long time in this game he has to really get comfortable with the eight to 10-foot pull-up.”
Said Hinds: “I’m just going to go there, work hard every day, do what the coaches tell me to do and do anything to win games.”
Hinds’ commitment follows by one day the pledges of 5-10 Aurora, Ill., point guard Ryan Boatright, and 6-10 big man Pat Forsythe of Ohio.
Hinds said he and Boatright can play together in the same backcourt.
“It will really help a lot,” he said. “Trying to go there and win a national championship, you can’t do it by yourself. You need other players around you. So that should be a good thing.”
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
