Fingleton, who stands 7-6 and weighs 308 pounds, is a native of England and considered a Top 50 prospect.

"My goal is to play in the NBA someday," Fingleton told the Worcester Telegram and Gazette. He added 40 pounds during the offseason. "Hopefully, playing at a program like North Carolina, with all of their great players and coaches, will help me achieve that goal."

Fingleton had signed three letters, Boston College, Wake Forest and North Carolina, and was to send paperwork to one school within five days after his mother, living in England, signed. Boston College was then eliminated as the Tar Heels and Demon Deacons waited. Connecticut, Holy Cross, Ohio State and Notre Dame were also once considered.

Fingleton never visited UConn, although his youth coach in England, Tony Hanson, played for the Huskies.

"I felt very comfortable with all of the North Carolina players," Fingleton said. "They are all down to earth. The players were the biggest reasons why I chose North Carolina. I watched two practices during my last visit and (coach Bill Guthridge is) pretty impressive."

As a junior, Fingleton averaged 18 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks.

"(UNC's) the best place for me and I know I'm ready," Fingleton said. "If I keep doing what I'm doing, and keep working hard, I'll be okay."

North Carolina's recruiting class is now regarded within the Top 5 during the Class 2000 early signing period. Joining Fingleton on the Tar Heels roster next fall will be forward Jason Parker, guards Brian Morrison and Adam Boone. Guthridge re-signed the outstanding 6-8, 240-pound Parker, who committed but did not qualify last year, and added two of the top guard prospects in Boone and Morrison.

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Saint Louis added a late signee in national-quality guard Floyd McClain of Houston-Eisenhower, Tex.

Jermichael Miller, a swingman from Houston-Wheatley, Tex., has signed with Texas Tech. Miller was an All-Greater Houston selection in 1999 after averaging 26.5 points, 15.5 rebounds and 4.9 blocks for the Wildcats.

Top 50 prospect Lou Wright, forward from Memphis/Raleigh-Egpyt, Tenn., has signed with Memphis. Wright, the younger brother of former Memphis All-American and current NBA player Lorenzen Wright, averaged 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals as a junior at Los Angeles-Westchester, Calif. He joins Raleigh-Egypt teammate, guard/forward Cornelius McFadgon, as the two signees for the Tigers.

Tulsa has a commitment from guard Jason Parker of Tulsa-Memorial, Okla., who will sign in the spring period. Forward Matt Frieje of Shawnee Mission-West, Kan., signed with Vanderbilt over Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Saint Louis signed guard/forward Jason Edwin of Warsaw, Ill. Forward Deon Cooper of Columbia, Tenn., signed with George Mason.

National-quality guard Demetruis Smith of Hogansville-Callaway, Ga., signed with Alabama. Georgia and Kentucky were also being considered. Forward Bryant Matthews of Columbia, S.C., signed with Virginia Tech.

Transfers: Matt Rowan, 6-7 soph forward at Missouri (no decision on new school), and guard Rueben Douglas, a 6-3 soph guard at Arizona (no decision on new school).

UConn has the top women's recruiting class with the signing of guard/forward Diana Taurasi of Chino-Don Lugo, Calif., and guard/forward Ashley Battle of Wheeling-Linsley, W.V.

Big East
A double for Pittsburgh, as brothers Brandon and Deon Hayes, both defensive linemen, are headed for the Panthers. Brandon is from Akron-Buchtel, Ohio, while older brother Deon is attending Fork Union Military Academy, Va., and will enroll in January as a walk-on. Dan Stephens, a defensive lineman prospect from Wheeling-Linsly Academy, W.V., verballed to Pittsburgh over West Virginia, Ohio and Indiana, among others. West Virginia gained defensive lineman/tight end Ryan Thomas of Dillsburg, Pa. Thomas, who was also considering Boston College and Pittsburgh, had 20 catches with three touchdowns on offense this season. Boston College has two football commitments in quarterback Eric Boatwright of Brockton, Mass., and defensive lineman Phillip Mettling of Louisville-St. Xavier, Ky.

ACC
Maryland has added offensive lineman Kyle Schmitt of Derry, Pa., who also considered North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Boston College and West Virginia. Also joining the Terps are defensive lineman Clifford Dukes of Great Mills, Md., running/defensive back Raymond Custis of Germantown-Northwest, Md., and receiver Rob Abiamiri of Baltimore-Mt. St. Joseph's, Md. North Carolina has offensive lineman Justin Barton of Vorhees-Eastern, NJ., who also had interest from Iowa, Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia and Syracuse. Florida State picked up a commitment from kicker Brett Cimorelli from Zephyrhills, Fla., who will play baseball as well. Cimorelli, who had field goals of 50, 54, and 55 yards, picked FSU over Duke, Clemson, Vanderbilt and Notre Dame. Tight end/defensive lineman Zach Novak of Cincinnati-Wyoming, Ohio is headed for Duke. North Carolina State has a reported verbal from defensive lineman Pat Winn of Holt, Ala., over Arkansas and Auburn.

Big Ten
Ohio State has a commitment from Darrell Reid, a linebacker from Freehold-Boro, N.J. Reid has canceled visits to Maryland and Minnesota. The Buckeyes also received a verbal from kicker Josh Huston of Findlay, Ohio. Backup quarterback Austin Moherman has been granted his release from Ohio State and is expected to transfer to a Division 1-AA school. Hofstra and Northern Arizona are leading candidates. Quarterback Tony Stauss of Racine-Horlick, Wis., has made a commitment to Northwestern. Running back/linebacker/defensive back Joe Bevis of Edwardsville, Ill., will play for Illinois over offers from Iowa State, Kansas and Northwestern. Running back Kenny Rogers of Jacksonville, Ill., chose Illinois over Notre Dame, Indiana, Missouri and Northwestern. Huge offensive lineman Ricky Wymer of Westerville-North, Ohio, committed to Minnesota over Michigan State and Northwestern. Minnesota also has a commitment from running/defensive back Justin Fraley of Cleveland-Benedictine, Ohio, who chose the Golden Gophers over Maryland and Ohio. And offensive lineman Josh Plisch of Schofield-D.C. Everest, Wis., decommitted from Nebraska in favor of Minnesota. Michigan has a verbal from defensive/offensive back Victor Horn of Huntsville-J.O. Johnson, Ala/Chatham-Hargrave Military Academy, Va. Horn, whose brother Chris played for the Wolverines, chose Michigan over Auburn, Virginia and Virginia Tech. Iowa City-West kicker/punter Nate Kaeding has become Iowa's first commitment. Kaeding, who also had an offer from Iowa State, has a 50-yard field goal with 60 percent of his kickoffs resulting in touchbacks. He has a 45.3-yards-per-punt average. Linebacker Jerron Smith of Overbrook, N.J., has reportedly given Wisconsin a soft commitment. Others were Tennessee, Boston College, Auburn and Maryland.

MAC
Quarterback Ryan Hawk of Centerville, Ohio, has chosen Miami (Ohio) over MAC schools, plus interest from Northwestern and Michigan State. Hawk passed for 1700 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior. He also ran for 22 touchdowns.

Big 12
Linebacker/receiver Marques Harris of Grand Junction, Colo., picked Colorado over Arizona State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Colorado State and Oregon. Jonte Buhl, a defensive back from Pflugerville-Connally, Tex., picked Texas A&M over Oklahoma, Baylor, SMU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Kentucky. Linebacker/tight end Ricky Cardoza of Mission, Tex., has switched his commitment from Baylor to Texas A&M. Offensive lineman Geoff Hangartner of New Braunfels, Tex., committed to Texas A&M over offers from Colorado, Oklahoma, Baylor and Texas Tech, among others. Ron Able, a linebacker from Kemper Military Junior College, Mo., picked Oklahoma State over Missouri, Kansas State, Kansas, Michigan State, South Carolina and Memphis. Two commitments for Baylor: Tight end Luke Groth of Fort Stockton, Tex., over Texas Tech and TCU; and offensive lineman Ryan McDaniel of Hemphill, Tex. Other schools included Arizona, Texas A&M, Purdue, Houston, Rice, SMU and Oklahoma State. Receiver/defensive back Ben Zajicek of Beatrice, Neb., has committed to Nebraska over Kansas State, Colorado, Colorado State and Iowa State.

SEC
Tennessee has a commitment from Rashad Baker, a national-quality receiver from Camden-Woodrow Wilson, N.J. Baker had also received interest from Notre Dame, Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Miami. Arkansas has a commitment from defensive lineman Jayson Johnson of Little Rock-Fair, Ark., over Texas A&M, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Nebraska. Defensive lineman Javor Mills of Wilmington-Concord, Del/Holmes Community College, Miss., committed to Auburn. Touted linebacker Robert Peace of Ruston, La., has decommitted from LSU and is now looking at favored Tennessee, LSU, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Texas. Three re-commitments for Georgia include receiver Reggie Brown of Carrolton, Ga., receiver/defensive back Tavarus Morgan of Jackson, Ga., and defensive lineman Jon Sullivan of Griffin, Ga./Hargrave Military Academy, Va. All had signed with the Bulldogs last spring, but did not qualify. Brown was considered the top receiver prospect in the nation. Defensive lineman Daniel Booth of Amory, Miss., chose Mississippi over Mississippi State and Tennessee. Mississippi State has a reported verbal from offensive lineman Tommy Watson of Copiah-Lincoln CC, Miss.

Pac-10
Running back Sean Sweat of Oceanside-El Camino, Cal., committed to Washington. Wisconsin was also interested. Arizona State has a verbal from offensive lineman Travis Scott of Mesa CC, Ariz. Receiver/defensive back Skyler Fulton of Olympic-Capital, Wash., also verballed to ASU over interest from Washington and UCLA. He will sign pro baseball if drafted. Oregon State has picked up a commitment from linebacker/running back/tight end Seth Lacey of Eugene-Churchill, Ore. Lacey rushed for 1,964 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior. Running back Jimmy Banks of Orange Coast College, Calif., is reportedly headed for USC. San Diego State, Oregon State, Iowa and Fresno State are showing interest in linebacker Daryl Towns, who was reported last month as no longer committed to Washington following shoulder surgery.