The University of Miami men's basketball team, fresh off its best season in eight years, added another valuable piece to its future Wednesday when it picked up an oral commitment from a national Top 100 recruit -- 6-8, 205-pound forward Donnovan Kirk of Detroit (Mich.) Country Day School.
Kirk is rated a Scout.com Top 100 player and the 56th-best player in the nation regardless of position and 21st-best power forward in the Class of 2009 by Rivals.com.
''He's a very, very athletic power forward,'' said Country Day coach Kurt Keener, who said Kirk passed on offers from USC, South Florida, Michigan State and Xavier. ``He runs the floor exceptionally well, explodes to the basket and loves to play physical. I still think he has a tremendous upside.
``He had made an unofficial visit during spring break to Miami and he just communicated to me he liked the coach, the campus, the atmosphere. It's been a cold summer in Michigan. I'm sure the warm weather is appealing.''
Kirk played in 16 games at Country Day and averaged 10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and two blocked shots while shooting 57 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free-throw line. Those numbers were achieved on a team that features 6-11 center DeShante Riley (rated 13th-best player in the nation in the '09 class) and 6-6 small forward Jordan Dumars, son of Pistons president and former Pistons standout Joe Dumars.
