Auburn men’s basketball signs three

The Auburn men’s basketball team officially announced the signings of centers Ronald Delph and Benas Griciunas and point guard Tahj Shamsid-Deen to national letters of intent, coach Tony Barbee announced Friday.

“I am proud of these guys. They all come from winning programs, and they have a winning background,” Barbee said in a statement. “They will be fantastic Auburn men as well as fantastic Auburn basketball players, and it is important that they are both.”

Delph, a 7-foot, 235-pound center from Winter Haven, Fla., is attending IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., after attending Lake Region High in Winter Haven, Fla., where he was a three-year starter. He averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds last season.

“Ronald Delph has tremendous upside as a 5-man at 7-foot, 235 pounds,” Barbee said. “He is extremely athletic with great skills in the post. He is a great shot blocker and a great rebounder and can do a lot of great things. He has the ability to step out on the floor and do some things on the perimeter and shoot the ball from three.”

Griciunas, a 7-foot, 225-pound center from Silute, Lithuania, is in his third year attending Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., where the team has 12 Div. I players on its roster..

“He is a multi-skilled big man at 6-foot-11, almost 7-foot, but he can shoot the ball,” Barbee said. “He is a really good passer, and he can handle the ball. He has a great feel in the post. He is left-handed, so he is a difficult matchup.”

Shamsid-Deen, a 5-foot-10, 162-pound point guard from Decatur, Ga., is ranked No. 91 in the MaxPreps Class of 2013. He has helped lead Columbia to three-straight Class AAA state titles while compiling a 90-9 record. Last year’s team went 31-1 and finished the season ranked 10^th nationally. He is a two-time Atlanta Journal-Consitution Class AAA Player of the Year selection.

He has a 3.9 GPA, averaged 14 points, 10 assists and three steals as a junior at Columbia last year.

“Tahj is a winner,” said Barbee. “He has great speed and great ball skills. He can really score the ball and shoot the ball from the point guard position. He comes from a winning program with three state championships in the state of Georgia Class AAA. Two-time Mr. Basketball in AAA basketball in Georgia, and we know how competitive basketball is in that state.”