AU men’s and women’s basketball get four early signees each

The Auburn women’s basketball team inked four recruits for the 2009-10 season Wednesday, while the men’s team is set to sign four as well.

All four of women’s coach Nell Fortner’s signees hail from Georgia, while men’s coach Jeff Lebo’s four come from all over the South.

The women’s top recruit, according to national rankings, is 5-foot-9 point guard Morgan Toles of Sandy Creek High School (Fayetteville, Ga.). She ranks as the 27th-best recruit in the nation and fourth-best point guard by ESPN.com’s Hoop Gurlz.

Fortner will lose preseason all-second team SEC point guard Whitney Boddie, a senior, after this season.

“She is a tremendous point guard, I am so excited about her,” Fortner said of Toles. “When you put her on the court along with Morgan Jennings and some of the other great athletes we have out here, we get a lot faster.”

Forward Blanche Alverson of Buford, Ga. also tops out in the Top 50, according to ESPN.com.

“(Alverson) has the ability to shoot the 3, put it on the floor and she is an excellent passer,” Fortner said. “That is a skill that you do not get a lot of kids coming in with anymore.”

Fortner’s other two recruits have also received high marks.

Nicholle Thomas, a 5-foot-10 guard from Colquitt County High School, is considered the 24th-best guard, according to ESPN.com, while 6-foot-8 center P.J. West of LaGrange is ranked the 25th-best post player in the country.

A familiar face highlights Lebo’s group, as former recruit Kenny Gabriel won his appeal to the NCAA Clearinghouse and will be eligible to play next season, according to Auburnsports.com. Gabriel, who hails from Charlotte, N.C., is currently playing at a junior college in Paris, Tex.

Andre Malone, a shooting guard out of Atlanta, planned to sign with Auburn on Wednesday afternoon, Montaverde, Fla. power forward Rob Chubb was set to sign at 4 p.m. Wednesday and swing forward Earnest Ross (Cary, N.C.) plans to sign today, according to Auburnsports.com.

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