The Junkyard

Tony Parker basically said it came down to UCLA, Ohio State and Georgia.

He felt that going to UCLA will challenge him more as a player -- saying there would be no pressure at UGA -- and that current Bruins signees Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson (who he roomed with at the recent Jordan event) had a lot to do with it.

So did Korey McCray, a former AAU coach of Parker's who now an assistant at UCLA.

"Me and Korey are extremely close," Parker said. "He's known me since I was 12. He's trained me and everything, so Korey is a coach and a hometown guy. So there's a hometown guy at UCLA too. He factored in (to my decision) a lot."

One other interesting tidbit is that Parker's cousin is married to former UCLA basketball star Marques Johnson, and that he'll "have family away from home there."

As for Georgia, Parker said he informed Mark Fox last week of his decision.

"He already knew," Parker said. "He kind of helped me out. He told me he was always there for me, and I think he's a great guy. He does great things in his program."

Miller Grove coach Sharman White had a lot of praise for the ground made up by UGA in the process.

"I think Georgia made a lot of headway," White said. "They cleared out a lot of spaces, and up until maybe a week or so ago, I thought they were in great shape. I think Coach Fox does a great job. It would have been a great fit for him, but Tony wanted to test the waters a little bit, and like he said, he wanted to get into more of a pressure situation. I can't fault him for that. I commend him for that. But Georgia did a great job. They weren't as close even three months ago. They did a great job closing the gap."