Virginia Tech, Oregon State among first schools to offer McGill-Toolen's T.J. Lang
Posted July 16, 2013
Virginia Tech, Oregon State among first schools to offer McGill-Toolen's T.J. Lang
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MOBILE, Alabama – McGill-Toolen basketball coach Phillip Murphy told T.J. Lang once he got his first college scholarship offer, others would come quickly.
He was right.
Lang, McGill’s rising senior forward, received his first offer last month from Louisiana-Lafayette. In recent weeks, Virginia Tech, Oregon State and Georgia Southern also have offered.
“It’s been nice to see things start to happen for T.J.,” Murphy said. “Right now, I think he is still wide open. As offers keep coming and he sees who is interested and where he is fitting, he’ll get a better idea about his future I think. Right now, he’s just checking out all his options.”
The 6-foot-6 Lang, the son of former Duke star Antonio Lang, was the Press-Register’s Player of the Year as a junior. The first-team Class 6A All-State selection averaged 17.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in leading the Yellow Jackets to a 25-7 record and the South Regional final.
Lang has enjoyed a busy summer. He’s been playing with his AAU team, Game Elite out of Atlanta, in May and July. He spent most of June working with his McGill teammates, but missed several team days for an unofficial visit to Georgia Tech and an elite camp at Auburn.
Murphy said his absence was noticeable.
“It was glaring how much of a difference he made for us when he was out,” Murphy said. “We were definitely not the same team. We played hard and won some games still, but we missed him. His ability to stretch the defense and the attention he garners opens so many opportunities for us.”
Lang is in Montgomery this week to compete in the North-South basketball game Wednesday night at Alabama State. Murphy said as his star continues to improve his game, he has some more goals for him for his senior season.
“I would really like to see T.J. take his rebound numbers into double digits most nights, and he is very capable of doing that,” Murphy said. “I also would like to see him become a lockdown defender like he is capable of doing. He is going to score, and he is going to pass the ball well. We know that. We’re just looking for him to come an even better all-round player.”
