Nov. 11, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Nov. 11, 2009 - Penn State landed one of the most highly sought after recruits in Nittany Lion basketball program history Wednesday when 6-2 guard Taran Buie (State College, Pa.) signed his national letter of intent to play for the Lions on the first day of the early signing period.
Buie, who has been ranked a four-star recruit and as high as the No. 40 recruit in the nation in the ESPNU Super 60, chose to join his half-brother Talor Battle, a junior, and the Nittany Lions over offers from Maryland, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Marquette among others.
"We are very happy and excited to have Taran joining our team," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said. "With his brother, Talor, being here and that relationship, we feel like he has been a part of our Nittany Lion family for awhile now and fits in perfectly with what our program is all about. We are thrilled he has decided to bring his considerable athletic ability and basketball skills as well as his competitiveness and drive to our program."
Named the Big 10 Conference co-Player of the Year in 2009 after leading his Bishop Maginn (Albany, N.Y.) team to a 19-4 record, Buie has been tabbed an Elite 5-Star player by New York Daily News recruiting expert Tom Konchalski who has been rating the top basketball talent on the eastern seaboard for more than 45 years.
"Taran is a terrific playmaker and defender," DeChellis said. "He is a real team player who understands the game and makes his teammates better. He is a tremendous athlete with the ability to get to the rim and a strong mid-range game. And, like his brother, he just has a tremendous motor and plays with great energy."
Buie led Bishop Maginn to its first ever New York State Class AA state championship in 2007-08 as sophomore earning tournament MVP honors and averaging 17.1 ppg for the season while leading his team to a 26-1 record. Buie turned Division I coaches heads when he posted a game-high 20 points in a semifinal win over defending champion Mount Vernon and followed it up with a game high 15 in the championship game. Buie was a third-team New York Class AA all-state selection as a sophomore.
Buie earned second-team New York all-state honors last year after averaging 18.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.2 steals per game in leading his team to its second consecutive 16-0 regular season. He posted a season-high 30 points on six three pointers in Maginn's 60-59 Section II Class AA semifinal loss to Albany Academy to end the season. Maginn has won 38 consecutive Big 10 Conference games dating back to 2007.
Buie and Battle were teammates on Maginn's 2006-07 New York State Class AA runner-up squad in Buie's freshman season.
A standout on the AAU circuit with the Albany City Rocks team, which he helped lead to a victory at the AAU Showcase last summer, Buie was among 80 elite high school players invited to the LeBron James Skills Academy and was one of 20 guards invited to the Nike Deron Williams Skills Academy last summer.
Buie, who moved to State College with his mother, Denise Murphy, and five younger siblings over the summer, will complete his high school career as part of the State College High School Little Lions team coached by Drew Frank.
He currently is ranked as the No. 87 recruit overall and No. 24 shooting guard in the nation in the ESPNU 100. Scout.com had ranked him as high as the No. 17 shooting guard nationally.
-NITTANY LIONS-