Vernon Macklin, a 6′ 9″, 230 lb. sophomore, sat on the bench behind Roy Hibbert at Georgetown. After a visit to Gainesville and extensive talks with Billy Donovan, now he’s a Gator. From Fox Sports:

“It’s a great decision because it gives Vernon a chance to sit out and work on some things,” said Macklin’s former prep school coach, Kevin Keatts, of Hargrave Military Academy. “He’s learned a lot in the last two years under John (Thompson III), but going to Florida will give him a chance to re-charge his battery a little bit.”

Macklin made the decision during a Friday visit to Gainesville.

Now, is this a big deal? It may very well be. Macklin is a former high school basketball star and earned both Parade and McDonald’s All-American honors. While Florida’s then-unlegendary ’04s were getting settled into their roles in the 2005 team, Vernon Macklin was being gushed over by the various recruiting services, who rated him thus:

Scout.com: #17
Rivals.com: #37
Prepstars.com: #12

And Prepstars had this to say about Macklin in ‘05:

2005 National Prep Showcase: It’s a shame that Vernon Macklin didn’t walk away a winner after the outstanding effort he turned in for Hargrave. The 6-9 BF made the move to Hargrave in an effort to improve his all-around game, get stronger and boost academics, and he certainly seems to be accomplishing all of the above. He’s virtually unrivaled at his size as a run and jump athlete and appears to have added at least 10 pounds of muscle since the summer. Macklin still is prone to play out of control for stretches, but he even looked comfortable handling the ball on a few fast breaks. Most importantly, he didn’t settle for mid and deep jumpers and instead forced the action down low and was a terror on the offensive glass, where he picked up six of his 17 rebounds. An added bonus with Macklin’s play was that he used his quick hands to generate four steals.

2005 Super Showcase: Speaking of effort, it appears that Vernon Macklin is showing it more and more these days. Ferociously attacking the glass and opponents shots, the Boo Williams standout was in perpetual motion today against the New Hampshire Playerz. He routinely was the first one down the floor, both offensively and defensively. While many of his points came in transistion and putbacks, he did show an ability to put the ball on the floor, elevate in traffic and finish. A little more polish on the offensive end and he could be a one-year-wonder on the college level.

2005 Nike All-America Camp: Finally, just as we were about to write him off for not having improved in awhile, Vernon Macklin completely dominated a game on both ends of the court. For a moment, he looked like a young Shawn Kemp as he flew up and down the court. Actually, he doesn’t shoot well enough from 12 feet to draw accurate comparisons to Kemp, but it wouldn’t be out of line to say he reminded of a young and wild Chris Wilcox.

Potential negatives? He’s a backup, yes, but he’s only a sophomore and sitting behind Roy Hibbert is nothing to be ashamed of. And Georgetown’s plodding style would definitely not suit a player who likes to get up and down the court.

This could be a great get for Florida; Billy Donovan has a keen eye for talent, and the FoxSports.com article describes Macklin as “ultra-athletic.” Florida could certainly use some athleticism in its front court.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until 2009 to see Macklin play. Can you imagine this lineup: Kadji, Vargas, and Macklin banging down low, a bulked-up Chandler Parsons playing the 3 along with Dan Werner, and Calathes and Lucas running the point? That would be one hell of a fun team to watch, and assuming they create some strong team chemistry could be a dominant SEC force ready to make a lot of noise in March.