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AUBURN AUTHORITY

T.J. Lang signs with Auburn

James Crepea
Montgomery Advertiser
McGill-Toolen's T. J. Lang committed to Auburn on Tuesday.

AUBURN -- It didn't take T.J. Lang long to sign on the dotted line.

Just one day after committing to Auburn, the 6-foot-7 guard out of McGill-Toolen signed a financial agreement to join the Tigers for the 2014-15 season, assistant coach Tony Jones announced in a statement Wednesday.

"Our staff is very excited about T.J. joining our basketball program," Jones said in a statement. "When coach (Bruce) Pearl got the Auburn job, one of his first assertions was to recruit the state of Alabama, and signing T.J. brings that statement to fruition. T.J. will add depth to our perimeter and his skill set fits our style of play on the offensive end."

Lang, a former Virginia Tech signee, averaged 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists as a senior and led McGill-Toolen to an appearance in the Class 6A, Area 2 championship game as a senior as the team went 19-10. He was named to the AWSA Class 6A Second Team as a senior after being a First Team selection as a junior.

"We are excited to sign a player of T.J.'s caliber and character," assistant coach Chuck Person said in statement. "He will help us reestablish the excitement and tradition of Auburn basketball. T.J. will bring to our program a great skill set, a high basketball IQ and a great ability to shoot the basketball. Our staff is excited that T.J. is from the state of Alabama and he wanted to be a student-athlete at Auburn University."

Lang is the son of Antonio Lang, who played at Duke from 1990-94, played professionally in the NBA as well as overseas.

He becomes the first official signee since Bruce Pearl and his staff arrived at Auburn, though he was the third commitment.

Pearl was not quoted in the release due to his NCAA show-cause penalty barring him from any recruiting activities until a player is on campus.

If Lang can contribute as quickly on the floor for Auburn as he did in delivering his paperwork, it would be a nice addition to a team that lost three starters and has just eight returning players.