news-record.com

OAK RIDGE — Jacob Lawson, the mercurial 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward who led Northern Guilford High School to a state championship (later forfeited), has committed to play basketball at Purdue.

Lawson, a senior at Oak Ridge Military Academy, averaged 14.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.5 blocks last season for the Cadets.

He visited Purdue last weekend and committed Monday, according to recruiting Web sites Rivals.com and Scout.com. He picked coach Matt Painter’s Boilermakers over offers from Georgetown, Mississippi, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Lawson is rated a three-star prospect out of a possible five stars by both recruiting services.

As a sophomore, Lawson was one of the key players in Northern Guilford’s run to the 3-A state championship. But the title was forfeited after NCHSAA officials determined the school used ineligible players.

Last fall, Lawson followed former Nighthawks coach Stan Kowalewski to Oak Ridge Military Academy where the Cadets blossomed into a national power.

“I am very excited for Jacob as Purdue fits his needs academically and he will have an opportunity to compete for playing time as a freshman,” Kowalewski wrote in an e-mail. “Many publications have Purdue as the No. 2-ranked team in the nation preseason.”

Lawson joins Chris Jones (Tennessee) and Michael Neal (Appalachian State) as Oak Ridge Military players in the class of 2011 who have committed to colleges.