Darius Garland of Brentwood Academy commits to Vanderbilt basketball

BRENTWOOD — A little less than six years ago, three 12-year-old AAU teammates decided that the summer just wasn’t enough.

Gavin Schoenwald, Camron Johnson and Darius Garland wanted to be teammates for real, and, as a result, the blossoming basketball players from Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana, respectively, decided to attend Brentwood Academy.

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“After our sixth-grade year we were all talking and decided we wanted to go to middle school together and then go on to high school,” Johnson said. “Gavin was going to Brentwood Academy, and he got Darius and I to come.”

As it turns out, the three will be attending college together as well.

On Monday, Garland, who’s widely regarded as one of the nation’s top point guards, committed to play basketball at Vanderbilt, choosing the hometown Commodores over finalists Indiana, Kentucky and UCLA.

And while Vanderbilt football commitments Schoenwald and Johnson would love to take credit for what is perhaps the biggest recruiting win in Commodores basketball history, it simply wouldn’t be accurate.

“We kind of just said, ‘It’d be cool if we went to school together,’ and then just kind of laughed it off,” said Schoenwald, a three-star tight end commitment. “Obviously me and Cam have been working on Darius, but at the same time, we wanted him to make the right decision for himself.

Added Johnson, a four-star wide receiver: “Gavin and I have sort of talked to him about it, but we’ve been telling him that we’re there for him no matter what, and that we’re going to be cool no matter what. This was totally up to him.”

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In the end, it was school’s proximity to home, along with second-year coach Bryce Drew, that steered Garland to the Commodores.

“It hit me last Friday,” Garland said. “We went over the pros and cons as a family, and they had the least cons. … We’re trying to change the culture. Before I got here, they said that Vanderbilt’s gym was packed all the time, for every game. We’re trying to get back to that. That’s the main goal.”

A four-year starter and two-time Tennessean Player of the Year, Garland received offers from virtually every major Division I program before releasing six finalist (Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA and Vanderbilt) in late July.

He took official visits to Indiana, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and UCLA last month.

The 6-foot-2 Garland, a two-time Mr. Basketball award recipient, averaged 23.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game a season ago, helping lead Brentwood Academy to a 30-2 record and a third consecutive TSSAA Division II-AA state title.

As a sophomore, the 6-foot-2 Garland averaged 18.6 points, 4.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game for the state champion Eagles.

“They are all very special kids,” coach Hubie Smith said of the three Eagles seniors. “I’ve had the joy of coaching them, and they’re basically like four-year starters. All three of these kids have started for us throughout their careers, have been all-state players and have been marvelous representatives of what our school is all about.

“It is a joy for me to coach them and to be able to watch them by driving just down the road.”

Reach Michael Murphy at mfmurphy@tennessean.com or 615-259-8026 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.