Savon Goodman becomes the eighth newcomer to the 2012-13 Rebels basketball team

By Taylor Bern

Friday, June 15, 2012 | 6:52 p.m.

Dave Rice’s recruiting coup yielded another prized target: 6-foot-6, 210-pound forward Savon Goodman.

Rice announced Friday evening that Goodman, a Philadelphia native ranked No. 72 in the country, has signed a written offer of financial aid and will join the program this summer. Goodman decommitted from Villanova last August and chose UNLV over SMU, which this off-season hired legendary coach Larry Brown.

“We are excited about Savon joining our program,” Rice said in a statement. “He is a winner and brings great energy on every possession. He can guard multiple positions and will be explosive in our transition game. He has a tremendous work ethic and we look forward to his development over the next many seasons.”

Goodman had been considering reclassifying to the class of 2013 — the same thing UNLV target Anthony January had done earlier this summer — but the pieces aligned for him to stay in his current class and he now becomes the eighth newcomer for the 2012-13 season. The Rebels are now done with recruiting for the class of 2012.

Goodman joins high-school signees Anthony Bennett, Daquan Cook, Demetris Morant and Katin Reinhardt, as well as transfers Bryce Dejean-Jones, Khem Birch and Roscoe Smith. Considering the Rebels' depth at forward, Goodman would be a possible candidate to redshirt, but Rice has said he won't make any of those decisions until he gets closer to the season.

As a senior at Constitution High, Goodman averaged 26 points and nine rebounds per game. As a member of the USA Elite National Team, Goodman helped to win a FIBA World Championships in France last April. Before attending Constitution, he spent three years at Academy of the New Church Boys School in Bryn Athyn, Pa.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.