Josh Warren had no reasonable offers to play college basketball after spending his prep days at Marietta High School.
He chose to attend Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Va., for this academic year.
Warren has made another decision. He has chosen to play at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga beginning next fall as a freshman with five years to play four seasons.
"He's really raw offensively, he's just learning to play basketball, but he has an NBA body and NBA athleticism," said Fishburne coach Ed Huckaby, who spent 11 years as an NCAA Division I coach, most recently at Wright State.
"He's got great hands, he's able to go up and get balls that most guys can't," he said. "The key to rebounding is to be able to get balls out of your area and he can definitely do that.
Huckaby has no stats from last year for Warren, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound post player. They'd be meaningless anyway, he said.
"Stats in his case are irrelevant," Huckaby said. "I compare him to [Morehead State center] Kenneth Faried. You know, the second-round pick."
Warren took an official visit to Bowling Green and also drew interest from Duquesne and Rider.
"It was a tough decision and I talked about it with my mom, my coaches and prayed about it," Warren said. "When coach [John Shulman] looked me in the eye and said, 'Once a Moc, always a Moc,' I saw the emotion and what it's like to be part of this family."
Huckaby and Warren both said that he needs to polish his offensive skills this season. But his best days are ahead.
"I need to develop footwork, my left hand, and my ball-handling," Warren said. "My best attributes are my energy and my athleticism."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfree press.com or at 423-757-6484.