Memphis East point guard Alex Lomax commits to Wichita State

East High School basketball star Alex Lomax is headed to Wichita State. 

Lomax announced his decision via social media Wednesday night, choosing the Shockers over scholarship offers from Memphis and Ole Miss, among others. 

Not long ago, Lomax was the top recruiting priority for Memphis coach Tubby Smith and his staff. But he ultimately decided to continue his basketball career outside the city.

"It was kind of like a toss up whether I wanted to go home or stay far," Lomax said in a telephone interview Wednesday night. "Both got great coaches and great players. It was just a long thought process, just constantly thinking and thinking, and I just ended up going Wichita.

"Memphis didn’t do anything wrong. They recruited me great the whole time and they showed love and support the whole time. I respect that and I really love that about coach Tubby [Smith] and [assistant] coach Pooh [Williamson].”

“I just want to let the city know I love Memphis," Lomax added later in the conversation. "Memphis will always be home.”

The Tigers shifted their focus in recent months toward Cordova point guard Tyler Harris as Lomax's interest in playing for his hometown school waned this fall. 

Harris is still weighing offers from Memphis, Iowa State and Colorado State, among others, and has yet to make a college decision.

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Point guard is a position of need for the Tigers in the 2018 recruiting class, and Smith has yet to snag a local recruit since being hired at Memphis in April 2016.

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Lomax becomes the second Memphis area recruit to commit to Wichita State since it joined the American Athletic Conference last April. Cordova High standout Rodgerick Brown is currently a freshman on the Shockers' roster this season.

"We’re going to recruit wherever but it makes it easier to say, ‘Hey, not only are you going to play in our program, but we’re going to bring you home,' " Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall told The Commercial Appeal last month at AAC basketball media day when asked about recruiting in Memphis. 

“It’s obviously great talent and because there’s been a longstanding tradition of players that have come through that city, that have developed in that city, that have been coached in that city, it’s hard to get them out too because there’s been a lot of competition. But it’s certainly a place we hope to recruit in the future."

Lomax is the two-time defending Class AAA Mr. Basketball in the state of Tennessee after helping lead East to two-consecutive state championships. Known as a tenacious defender and an unselfish floor general, the 6-foot point guard is considered a four-star recruit by Rivals and ESPN. 

Wichita State didn't offer Lomax a scholarship until last July, but Marshall quickly made up ground in Lomax's recruitment. Once Lomax took an official visit to campus in September, "it was just icing on the cake," he said Wednesday night.

“I fell in love with everything," Lomax said. "I fell in love with the coaches, the environment, the culture, the team, atmosphere. Everything just kind of caught me. I just felt like that was the best place for me to further my education.”

College basketball's early signing period began Wednesday and lasts until Nov. 15. Lomax added he will "most likely" sign his national letter of intent to play for Wichita State over the next week.

Three-star prospect Connor Vanover, a 7-foot-4 center from Little Rock, Ark., signed his national letter of intent to play for Memphis on Wednesday night during a ceremony at Findlay Prep outside Las Vegas, according to a video posted to the school's Twitter account.