BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s basketball office received national letter-of-intent papers Monday from Wilkinson County (Ga.) High School point guard Xavier Whipple.
The 6-3 Whipple is the first signee of the spring signing period for the Tigers after signing three outstanding junior college players in the fall.
Wilkinson County High, also known as Wilco High, under coach Dr. Aaron Geter won the Georgia Class A state championships the last two years and earned a spot in the state 2001 Class AA semifinals this season.
Whipple, a member of the all-Middle Georgia first team for the last two seasons, averaged 20 points, six rebounds, seven assists and four steals. The Warriors were 27-4 this past season.
He was named the Macon Telegraph Middle Georgia Player of the Year for 2001.
Whipple also starred on the Wilco football team as a four-year starter at quarterback. He passed for 26 touchdowns and more than 1,900 yards as a senior. He also rushed for more than 500 yards.
“I’m very pleased that Xavier Whipple has signed with LSU and we have received his national letter-of-intent,” said LSU Coach John Brady. “He is a true point guard with size. He was an excellent student and he is academically qualified. Having played both football and basketball all through high school, and now concentrating on basketball, we think he has a chance to be an outstanding player. He brings us greater stability at the point guard position, a position we have needed stability at.”
Whipple joins the three junior college signees – 6-9 Shawnson Johnson, 6-8 Thomas Davis and 6-7 Kedric Brown – as signees for the 2001-2002 men’s basketball season.