Marcus Thornton, the 2010 Mr. Georgia Basketball, announced on Wednesday that he will play for Georgia ($).  Thornton, originally a Clemson signee before their recent coaching change, chose Georgia over Georgia Tech, Alabama, and Texas.  Thornton had also drawn interest from programs like Kentucky and North Carolina over the past couple of weeks.

The commitment of the 6’7” forward is a huge exclamation point on Mark Fox’s 2010 recruiting class.  Not to diminish the importance of the rest of the class, but coming out on top in a highly-visible recruiting battle for a top Atlanta talent is just what the Fox program needs to build momentum on the recruiting trail for the critical 2011 class. The results on the court last season demonstrated that Georgia has the coaching to be competitive, and they just need the players in order to take the next step.  Thornton is the kind of player Fox needed to get in order to make the kind of impact on recruiting that he had on the court last season.

Georgia’s 2010 class is now complete.

• Cady Lalanne – 6’8” F from Florida
• Sherrard Brantley – 6’2” JUCO guard
• Donte Williams – 6’9” F from Lithonia (Miller Grove)
• Marcus Thornton – 6’7” F from Atlanta (Westlake)

And let’s not forget that next year’s team will also add transfer shooting guard Gerald Robinson.  David Hale has more on the impact Robinson is expected to have next season.