The Virginia Tech basketball program got huge news over the weekend, with Danville (VA) forward C.J. Barksdale making his verbal commitment to the Hokies. Barksdale is a highly-regarded combo-forward prospect who chose Tech over offers from Alabama, Florida, Maryland and Wake Forest.

Barksdale is 6-7, 225, and he is the #24 ranked prospect in the country by PrepStars, one of the most respected scouting services in the business. Scout.com ranks him the #28 prospect nationally, and he is also #78 on the Rivals.com list. The rankings by PrepStars and Scout make him the highest-rated recruit to verbal to Virginia Tech since Dell Curry, who was a McDonald's All-American.

"I like it a lot," Barksdale said of Tech in October. "I like the school and the atmosphere, and the new practice facility is nice."

Barksdale averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds per game as a sophomore at GW-Danville in 2008-09. A member of the 2011 class, he can sign with Virginia Tech in November of 2010.

This is Virginia Tech's second commitment for the 2011 recruiting class. The first was wing guard Robert Brown of Florida, who is a consensus Top 100 recruit. The Hokies are expected to sign five players in the 2011 class: a point guard, two wings, and two posts, and a number of highly-rated prospects remain on their board.

Virginia Tech assistant coach James Johnson was the lead recruiter for Brown and Barksdale.

Stay tuned to TSL for more on Barksdale's commitment.

Click here to see VT's list of 2011 basketball commitments. The earliest these players can sign a letter of intent is November 2010.