Damiyne Durham, a 6-5, 195, guard from Oakwood High School has given a verbal commitment to play basketball at Baylor University.

Durham also had offers from Memphis, Michigan, Marquette, DePaul, Texas, Texas A&M, Kansas State and Auburn, among others.

Oakwood boys basketball coach Ronnie Dunn told me, "Damiyne is a once in a lifetime talent no matter what level you coach, but to have him at the 1-A level is just a dream, he's special, very special and what I love most about him is how he has remained grounded through all the attention during the recruiting process."

Dunn added, "He has great vision, he can see the floor well, and he has the ability to dunk it on someone inside, and yet shoot the 3, in fact, I think he's in range to hit a jumper when he walks into the gym."

Durham, who averaged 24-points a game during the regular season, jumped that average to 32-points a game during the playoffs when Oakwood reached the Regional Finals.

Dunn said interest in Durham picked up when Oakwood made their run in the playoffs, but it elevated after his play at A.A.U. events in New Orleans, Chicago, and Las Vegas, "He has a tremendous offer list, but it really came down to his interest in Baylor and Texas A&M, he wanted to stay close, and in the end, he just felt more comfortable with Baylor."

When I first contacted Oakwood football coach Mike Heckathorn, he said, "Damiyne can flat-out jump out of the gym." Heckathorn did tell me, "He decided not to play football this season, concentrate on basketball only." And, he added, "David, this isn't a small-school talent, this kid is amazing, look at his list of offers, it's a tremendous story."

By the way, Oakwood High School plays Six-Man football, and Class 1-A in basketball.

David Smoak