Shake Milton signs his LOI to play at SMU

Early National Signing Day marks the day that SMU signs three new members into their official 2015 class for basketball. Alongside Sedrick Barefield and Jarrey Foster, Shake Milton will sign his letter of intent and officially become an SMU mustang.

Milton's decision to commit to SMU over Oklahoma and Indiana was a big coup for Larry Brown and assistant K.T. Turner, the point man on Milton's recruitment. Milton is from Owasso, Oklahoma, and it was up in the air whether the four-star recruit would want to stay close to home or not.

Milton is a 6-foot-4, 190-pound combo guard and he ranks among the top 30 nationally at his position. Milton spoke with the HillTopics about his decision, his goals, and his excitement.

Milton described his offer process and his encounters with coach Brown.

"I got my offer the summer before my junior year. My initial thoughts on SMU were that I liked it a lot and that I liked the fact that Larry Brown was there and then I built a good relationship with coach Turner," Milton told the HillTopics. "I first met Larry on my official visit but I talked to him a lot before then. He told me a lot of stories about all these basketball legends that he got to be around and experiences he had. He has a lot of basketball insight."

To the credit of the SMU coaches, Milton could never keep SMU out of his mind because they were always keeping in contact with him.

"The coaches visited me a lot and they made it very clear that they weren't going to stop until I decided that I was going to come to SMU," Milton said.

Milton had to take into account many different factors when he was making his college choice because he was choosing between many great programs and schools.

"I loved SMU when I visited, the campus is beautiful, everyone was friendly, the guys on the team had a great mesh, I could always see myself going there. But I could also see myself going to any of the schools I had offers from," Milton said. "I was looking for a place that could help me achieve my goals academically and athletically. I wanted a place that would help me be set for life after basketball. The business program is amazing, that's what I want to study. I talked to coach Brown about what I want to do after basketball and he was very supportive."

The newly established atmosphere of Moody Coliseum and the recently infatuated basketball fans also had an affect on Milton's decision.

"I love that SMU is becoming more of a basketball school, people really care about basketball and they are going to support us. I loved the New Moody, Coach just kept saying how loud it got," Milton said.

The transition from high school to college can be difficult for some students, even student athletes, but Milton has a very positive outlook on the change.

"I'll be nervous because it's a new start and a new beginning but I love meeting new people. I'll make new brothers on the team and I'll just put my head down and work hard. My mom loves that I'm getting away from home and she'll try to make every single game that she can at SMU."

Despite Milton's focus on his senior season of high school basketball, the thought of SMU is always in his mind. Right now Milton's focusing on his defensive game and positioning.

"The coaches and I have talked about me coming up to SMU for a few games this season at Moody. I talk to Ben Moore still from time to time and I talk to Nic Moore," Milton said.

Milton has played basketball his whole life and he thinks he knows what a team needs to succeed.

"To succeed I think a team needs unity," Milton said. "No selfish players; no players that are just out there to get theirs. A team just needs players that want to win. I think meshing with the new guys and the veterans is going to work well; we all have high basketball IQs and Coach Brown will put us into positions to succeed."