Hoop team welcomes three

Three new members were welcomed to the University of Florida men’s basketball team on Wednesday, as the first day for high school athletes to sign letter-of-intents commenced.

As expected, Jacksonville (Fla.) Raines combo guard Derwin Kitchen, Jacksonville (Fla.) Arlington Country Day shooting guard David Huertas and Boca Raton (Fla.) North Broward Prep power forward/center Jimmie Sutton all faxed in their letter-of-intent to head coach Billy Donovan, UF’s Sports Information Department stated in a press release.

Donovan held a 1:30 p.m. press conference, but by that time he had not received one letter-of-intent. But Donovan had no worries and knew the delay was because the athletes were waiting to sign their letters at separate ceremonies held in their honor.

“To me it is not a bad wait where we have people wavering or people are hesitating,” Donovan said. “It is just that the timing doesn’t work out how the way we want it to work out, but it is understandable.”

Donovan did not have to wait long after his press conference to finally relax, as by 4 p.m. all three players were signed, sealed and delivered.

Kitchen, who is 6-3 and 180 pounds, is arguably the headliner of UF’s 2005 class. The four-star combo guard verbally committed to UF in early July, and then took an official visit to the UF campus the weekend of Midnight Madness.

"Derwin is an extremely versatile perimeter player with a great understanding of the game," Donovan said. "He can handle the ball well and is an outstanding shooter. He has great quickness and athleticism."

Kitchen said he is expected to enter UF as a point guard, but the coaches mentioned he could also see some time at the shooting guard position.

Rivals.com ranks Kitchen as the No. 68 player in the country and the No. 22 shooting guard. He also is the No. 4 player in the state of Florida.

Kitchen has been a starter at Raines since his freshman season, and has helped Raines win back-to-back state titles the past two seasons. He averaged 19.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.3 steals as a junior. He earned first-team 4A All-State honors, All-Gateway Conference honors and was named to the All-Tournament team and Florida Times-Union Player of the Year as a junior.

As a sophomore, Kitchen was named to the All-Tournament team as well as earning MVP honors of the championship game. He also earned first-team 5A All-State honors and All-Gateway Conference honors.

Right down the road from Kitchen, Huertas inked his letter-of-intent. Huertas, a Puerto Rico native, verbally committed a day before Kitchen so in July and has since fought off many recruiters so he could sign with the Gators on Wednesday, Huertas’ Miami Tropics (AAU) coach Art Alvarez said.

Huertas, who is 6-5 and 195 pounds, unofficially attended Midnight Madness and took his official visit to UF last weekend.

"David is a very tough, hard-nosed, competitive player," Donovan said. "He adds another strong perimeter threat to our team. He's also very young, having recently turned 17, so I think he has a great future with us."

Huertas averaged 20.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game as a junior as Arlington Country Day finished with a 20-5 mark. He earned first-team Class 2A All-State and All-City honors.

Over the summer playing in 35 games for the Miami Tropics, Huertas averaged 21.5 points, six rebounds and four assists per game. He also had more than 80 three-point baskets, Alvarez said.

Rivals.com rates Huertas a three-star athlete. He is ranked as the No.104 player in the country, No.29 ranked shooting guard and No.8 player in Florida.

While it was expected that Kitchen and Huertas would sign on the first day, no one was sure if Sutton was to sign on the dotted line Wednesday. North Broward Prep head coach and athletic director Danny Haney was planning a 3 p.m. press conference on Thursday for Sutton to sign his letter in front of an audience. Haney was not sure if Sutton had or would send in his paperwork on Wednesday, but UF did receive his paperwork.

"I've had a chance to watch Jimmie play for a few years now and I've been extremely impressed with his overall growth and development," Donovan said. "He adds size, strength and physicality to our frontcourt."

Sutton was the last of the verbal commitments for UF, as his came unexpectedly on the day the UF football team kicked its season off against Eastern Michigan. The 6-10, 245-pound athlete gave his commitment to Donovan on an unofficial visit to UF, and mere weeks after receiving an offer from the Gators. Sutton also took his official visit to UF the weekend of Midnight Madness.

Rivals.com rates Sutton a three-star prospect. He is ranked as the No. 140 player in the country, No.37 power forward and No.14 player in Florida.

This season will be Sutton’s first year playing for North Broward Prep. He spent the previous two years playing for American Heritage, and as a junior averaged 11 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks as American Heritage made it to the state finals.