'A good fit': River Rouge's Legend Geeter commits to Providence

Legend Geeter, one of the top seniors heading into the 2020-21 season, committed to Providence on Friday afternoon.

Geeter, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward at River Rouge, opened his junior season with an impressive 19-point, 11-rebound effort in a 63-53 win over Emoni Bates and defending Division 1 state champion Ypsilanti Lincoln, with most of the damage coming in the pivotal second half.

And Geeter never slowed down, averaging 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks to earn Division 1 first-team all-state honors by The News while helping River Rouge carry a No. 1 ranking into the postseason, which was halted before the district championship games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think it’s a really good fit for Legend,” River Rouge coach LaMonta Stone said. “It’s a program that’s based on developing players. They don’t consistently get the five-star kid. They win based on getting the four-star kids and developing them into five-star kids, so I think that’s a program that fits Legend.

“It’s a Big East program, used to being in big games and that fits Legend because he comes from a winning program and that’s all he knows. He went to the state semifinals as a freshman, then lost in the state championship game as a sophomore before playing on the No. 1-ranked team last year.”

Geeter, who also had offers from Georgetown and Missouri, will be one of the front-runners for this year’s Mr. Basketball award, along with Detroit Douglass guard Pierre Brooks (Michigan State), Orchard Lake St. Mary’s guard Julian Roper (Northwestern), Grand Rapids Christian guard Kobe Bufkin (Michigan) and Ann Arbor Pioneer guard Julian Lewis.

david.goricki@detroitnews.com