JUCO guard from Georgia, Brewton commits to Tigers

After a tumultuous 24 hours, the Memphis men's basketball program kicked off a big recruiting weekend by adding another piece for next season's backcourt.

Combo guard Kareem Brewton, a 6-foot-3 junior college prospect from Claxton, Ga., announced via Twitter on Thursday night that he committed to Memphis while on campus for an official visit.

Brewton starred at Eastern Florida State College this past season, averaging 19.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists while leading the Titans to the National Junior College Athletic Association championship game and a school-record 31 wins.

Brewton, who suffered an ankle injury during EFSC's title-game loss last month, is rated as the No. 22 junior college prospect in the country by jucorecruiting.com. He will have two years of eligibility remaining when he enrolls at Memphis and becomes the fourth member of the Tigers' 2017 recruiting class, joining incoming freshmen Jamal Johnson, David Nickelberry and Victor Enoh.

Known more as a slasher than shooter after connecting on just 22 percent of his attempts from three-point range this year, Brewton was recruited by assistant coach Joe Esposito and scored at least 25 points 10 times as a sophomore. He is one of three junior college recruits expected to be at Memphis this weekend on official visits.

Point guard Chris Darrington (No. 13 in JUCO top 100) and 6-foot-7 forward Kyvon Davenport (No. 19) are also visiting campus as part of coach Tubby Smith's late recruiting push to fill next year's roster. Forward Raynere Thornton (No. 48) told The Commercial Appeal last week he will be on campus April 14.

Smith said during an end-of-season news conference last week that he is focusing on recruiting the junior college ranks in order to bring in more players that are physically ready to play at the Division-I level. Following the announcement Wednesday that brothers Dedric and K.J. Lawson plan to transfer, the Tigers have five open scholarships for next season.

College basketball's late signing period doesn't officially begin until April 12.