Today, May 8th 2008, Beech Grove High School’s (Indianapolis) guard John Hart signed his LOI to play basketball at Purdue University.

John Hart led his Beech Grove team to a sectional title (third in school history and first in more than a decade) and was also named the Marion County Player of Year and an Indiana Junior All-Star team in 2007.

John Hart, the 6-2 senior averaged 18.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and three assists for the 19-4 his Hornets.

“During the last recruiting period, I had numerous coaches telling me that John Hart was a very good player. I stopped by Beech Grove for an open gym and could not believe that someone with this athleticism and skill was available,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.

“When I met with John, I was even more impressed with him as a person. He has the characteristics of the type of person we are trying to attract to Purdue. We’re very excited to have him on board for the 2008-09 season.”

Hart joins 5-9 Lewis Jackson of Eisenhower High School in Decatur, Ill., and 6-3 Ryne Smith of Toledo (Ohio) Whitmer.