Nov. 16, 2011

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - William Goodwin, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward better known as "Shaq," has signed a national letter of intent to attend the University of Memphis beginning in the fall of 2012, Tiger head coach Josh Pastner announced Wednesday.

Goodwin joins AAU teammate Damien Wilson in the Tigers' 2012 signing class. Goodwin is rated as the No. 19 prospect in the nation by ESPNU, while Scout ranks him as a five-star recruit and the No. 5 overall power forward in the class of 2012. ESPNU ranks him as the best prospect in the state of Georgia, and MaxPreps ranks him as a five-star power forward. Yahoo!/Rivals rates him as a four-star prospect and the No. 26 overall player in the class of 2012.

"Coach Stoudamire and Coach Murphy deserve all the credit on this," Pastner said. "Shaq is extremely contagious with positive energy, and it just flows throughout his game. He plays with a tremendous motor; he's very versatile and can shoot the three. He's a very, very good rebounder as well and just a high character guy that fits right in with our current student-athletes."

The following is a biographical sketch of Goodwin:

Shaq Goodwin
6-8/230
Decatur, Ga./Southwest DeKalb
Goodwin helped lead Southwest DeKalb High School to a 24-6 record in 2010-11 before losing 70-53 to Rockdayle County in the Class AAAA Georgia State Championship game. Goodwin averaged a double-double of 18 points and 10.1 rebounds per game last season at Southwest DeKalb while shooting better than 70 percent from the floor. He also averaged 3.2 blocks per contest. Goodwin's best performance came in a playoff win over Lakeside in which he scored 41 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Goodwin received Class AAAA first team All-State honors for his performance during the 2010-11 season. The 2011-12 Southwest DeKalb team was also ranked No. 25 in MaxPreps' preseason national rankings. Goodwin is also a part of the same AAU program as Wilson, the Atlanta Celtics. Alumni of the Celtics include current NBA players Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Derrick Favors, Joe Johnson and Amare Stoudemire.