Following in the footsteps of his father and his head coach at Mason County High School, junior guard Russ Middleton announced Tuesday he will be playing college basketball at Georgetown College, beginning in the fall of 2009.
The 6-foot-4 Middleton averaged 12 points per game as a sophomore and was second in the area with a 39.8 shooting percentage from beyond the three-point line.
Middleton is the second Royal to announce his future plans and the third basketball player to verbally commit to a school, following senior Darius Miller proclaiming his intent to attend the University of Kentucky and senior De’Sarae Chambers’ recent announcement that she will be heading to the University of Dayton.
There will likely be more such announcements in the coming weeks and months, with both the boys and girls teams boasting several other highly touted prospects, including Royal Trevor Setty and Lady Royals Lacey Cline and Kasey Litzinger.
Kelly Middleton, who starred at Georgetown after his career as a Royal, said he and his son have been discussing the decision for the past week and said, “We are very excited,” and that Russ “wanted to go ahead and make the decision now, so he could focus on Mason County’s goals for the upcoming season. He just feels like he doesn’t have that pressure to worry about now and he really feels good about his decision. When we discussed this, we talked about what he will want to do when basketball is over for him and he believes Georgetown will prepare him well for his life after basketball.”
Middleton, the assistant superintendent for Mason County schools, also said, “Russ had several letters from other schools and had spoken to other coaches but he was very comfortable with Georgetown coach Happy Osborne and he told me he thought he had stole one by getting Russ to commit early. Happy also feels Russ is one of the top juniors in the state of Kentucky. We believe that Russ could play at a higher level but Georgetown is an NAIA powerhouse and hopefully he will get a lot of playing time and get the opportunity to play in the national tournament in Kansas City, which is a pretty big deal. It is also fairly close to home and his grandparents will also get to see him play, because they live nearby, in Lexington.”
The Tigers were 29-4 last season and are always one of the top-ranked teams in the NAIA Division I poll, finishing third in last year’s final rankings. They compete in the Mid-South Conference and went 10-0 last year in league play. Osborne has posted a 336-65 record during his 11 years leading the program and won the national championship in 1998.
Mason County coach Chris O’Hearn, who also was a standout at Georgetown after his playing days as a Royal, is also very happy for his point guard.
“Russ appears to be very comfortable with his decision and wanted to make it known now,” O’Hearn said. “I admit I may be a little biased, being a Georgetown College graduate, but I feel he made a great choice. Georgetown has an unbelievable basketball tradition and it is also a very strong academic institution. It looks to be a perfect fit for Russ and he has a bright future ahead of him.”
The Royals tip off the 2007-08 campaign, which promises to be an exciting season with a very challenging schedule, with a visit to Lexington to play in the Commodore Classic next month, on Fri., Nov. 30.
