It wasn’t the most common path and definitely not the least stressful, but Toronto’s Marvell Waithe is finally ready to make his mark in NCAA Division 1 basketball. The Tallahassee Community College sophomore verbally committed to the University of Arkansas Razorbacks of the powerful Southeastern Conference (SEC).

“It has been a couple years coming since high school, but he finally knows where he wants to play D1 ball,” said Waithe’s former AAU and prep coach Ro Russell, who has been in his corner from the beginning.

“He has been determined to make it there and loved his [official campus] visit, so he is going to play in the SEC.”

HoopStars Canada described Marvell as “a rare blend of size, length, and speed of an ideal wing at the next level” in his senior year of high school, but ruling changes to the Clearinghouse requirements for Division 1 eligibility nullified his initial verbal commitments to Loyola-Chicago in 2007 and then Rutgers for the following year. There will be no more waiting after this season.

“I can go in right away and be the player I know I can be,” said Waithe.

“I will play the 3 and 4. My strengths are my shooting and the fact I'm very versatile. I feel comfortable both inside and outside, but I play mostly on the outside. However, I can go down low on the block when I need to.”

Waithe was named a Junior College All-American last year, averaging 19.0 points and 8.6 rebounds for Tallahassee last season.

“I see myself as ready to step in right away. I think a lot of junior college players are similar to that because they’ve already experienced college basketball. It really does help.”

(with some quotes from Rivals.com)