Texas Inks Four 2012 Basketball Recruits, But Not Cameron Ridley

It could be a long five months for the handful of hardcore Texas basketball recruitniks.

While there was a great deal of positive news with the official announcement from the school on Wednesday that four 2012 commits inked their Letters of Intent during the early signing period that just ended, the crown jewel of the class, Fort Bend Bush center and five-star prospect Cameron Ridley, did not sign with rumors swirling that he could re-classify to the 2013 class.

The next opportunity for Ridley to sign will not come until April 11th, though his high school and AAU coaches both expect him to eventually sign with Texas and be eligible for play next fall. Even so, it's certainly cause for concern that he hasn't yet signed and it's going to be some time before that feeling can be alleviated.

The other four commits who signed -- point guard Javan Felix of New Orleans, power forwards Connor Lammert of San Antonio and Prince Ibeh of Garland, as well as wing Ioannis Papapetrou -- represent the supporting cast of the class and the early hope is that all of them spend at least two seasons in the program.

As a group, there's a nice mix of talent. Felix went to the same high school as DJ Augustin and has a reputation as a tough, heady player with a nice blend of scoring and passing ability. Papapetrou is a Greek national who has a prototypical European game with his ability to knock down long-range buckets, which he can get off easily as a because of his 6-8 frame.

The two forwards lack of Ridley's mass, but both have good size -- Lammert goes 6-9 and Ibeh 6-11 -- and complementary skill sets. Lammert draws comparisons to Connor Atchley with his ability to step out beyond the arc and knock down jumpers and should be strong in the pick-and-pop game (hopefully with Myck Kabongo and/or J'Covan Brown), while Ibeh is an athletic shotblocker who can run the floor, but has little in the way of a developed offensive game. 

Overall, while there was some disappointment that Texas was not able to land in-state players like Marcus Smart or Danuel House and stopped pursuing Mitch McGary for whatever reason, Rick Barnes was able to finish the class strong with the relatively recent commitments from Lammert, Ibeh, and Papapetrou that helped solidify the class and add some much-needed size