It may have taken a bit longer than he would have liked, but Rick Pitino has his point guard.
Shaker Heights, Ohio point guard Terry Rozier became the first member of Pitino's recruiting class of 2012 when he committed to Louisville on Sunday morning. Earlier this summer, Rozier referred to U of L as his "dream school."
"It’s really amazing for me," Rozier told The Courier-Journal. "My heart was telling me I needed to do it. I didn’t want to wait around any longer."
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound floor general also had offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Georgia and Dayton, among others.
Rozier is ranked as the 88th-best player in the country by ESPN.com, No. 112 by Rivals and is the 20th-best point guard in the class according to Scout. He was the highest ranked point guard left uncommitted in the ESPN rankings.
Rozier is the first cousin of current Louisville freshman Zach Price, and says U of L has been his favorite school ever since he watched Through the Fire, the ESPN documentary on former Cardinal commit Sebastian Telfair.
"I loved watching the movie and just started watching the team after that and really became a fan," Rozier said. "I’ve always watched them and liked them."
See? I told you that whole thing would pay off eventually.
"Being coaches by a guy like Rick Pitino and being a part of a program like that is a dream for me," Rozier added. "I really am living a dream."
I know there are already some folks who are upset Pitino couldn't land a more highly-touted point guard, but as far as following the "Louisville first" mantra, this is about as good as it gets. Kid loves U of L and was letting the world know before he was even offered a scholarship. Terry Rozier will not be a hard player to cheer for.
He's also pretty good at basketball.
Welcome to Louisville, Terry.