The newest Wildcat

Downing and Droney. Has a nice ring.

It’s big because it’s early. It’s big because he’s local.

Some stuff:

Scout. Snippets: “has had a very strong pre-senior summer” ... “isn’t afraid to defend.”

Telep on the BlackBerry: “Good player! Winner!”

ESPN in April: Downing is a good athlete with great length on the wing. He runs the floor in transition and can get to the rim with ease. In the half court he scores with a nice mid range game. He can knock down the jumper to 18 feet after one or two rhythm dribbles. He is a good rebounder on both ends and can clean the defense glass and go coast to coast. Downing can finish in the lane using his length to elevate over smaller defenders. He is a good on ball defender that is capable of defending both wing positions. Downing is a very good all around guard with good upside.

Quick-culled info off Nexis: His Hopewell team went 29-1 last year before losing in the state semis and was 20-0 in summer league play. ... He was on the All-Observer second team last April. ... Also all-conference. ... Langston Wertz at the Carolina Challenge last March: “OK, he missed a wide open dunk, but he continues to show improvement in his ball-handling and shooting. He was one of the bigger surprises of the day.” ... Downing in the Observer in January: “North Meck-Hopewell is like Duke and UNC,” Hopewell basketball player Jordan Downing said. “The fans are crazy. The schools are close to each other and when we play, the temperature is just hot.” ... And in January after scoring a team-high 16 points in Hopewell’s win over Vance: “I think we were tougher.”