MORGANTONW -- The 2009 recruiting class for West Virginia basketball has its first two commits. Guard Dalton Pepper and center Dan Jennings gave their word over the weekend in hopes of filling a hole in the backcourt and adding depth to the frontcourt.

Pepper is a 6-foot-5, 215-pound native of Fairless Hills, Pa. He averaged 22.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.8 steals and shot 50 percent from the floor as a junior at Pennsbury High. Pepper led the school to its first Class AAAA semifinal appearance.

"He's explosive and gets to the basket," said Tony Sagona, head coach of Pepper's AAU team, the Jersey Shore Warriors. "He's very quick and a very good shooter. He's athletic and can finish around the basket."

Pepper figures to replace guard Alex Ruoff, who is a senior, though Sagona said Pepper is a different player who relies less on his shot and more on an ability to get inside.

Pepper picked WVU over offers from Miami, Seton Hall and Villanova.

He could not be reached for comment.

"He's a tremendous competitor," Sagona said. "We travel around and play great teams, but the great players always come out ahead and he's one of those guys."

Jennings is a 6-8, 240-pound presence from New York City. He plays AAU ball for the New York Gauchos and was teammates last summer with WVU point guard Truck Bryant. He's also friends with WVU forward Devin Ebanks, who was a year ahead of Jennings during Jennings' freshman and sophomore years at Bishop Laughlin High.

"I think it's a good school for me and I know a lot of the players there," Jennings said. "Bob Huggins is a coach who develops a lot of pros at my position and I know I'm going somewhere I have a change to play and get better."

Jennings played his junior season at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy and averaged nine points and seven rebounds. He plans to play his final season at either St. Thomas More or South Kent, a pair of prep schools in Connecticut. Ebanks played last year at St. Thomas More and speaks highly of coach Jere Quinn.

"He's a guy that challenges you every day and gets you ready for what you're going to get in college," Ebanks said.

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Former WVU assistant Mike Maker is now the head coach at Williams College, perhaps the most successful Division III school, located in Williamstown, Mass. Williams has been to the Final Four three times since 1994 and won the national championship in 2003.

Among the notable alumni are George Steinbrenner and former Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent.

Maker, who was a John Beilein assistant from 2005-07, has family from the area, including his father, who grew up in Boston. Maker was an assistant for 11 years at Dartmouth, in Hanover, N.H.

"I'm humbled and excited to be getting what I consider the opportunity of a lifetime," Maker said in a statement. "Williams has a great athletic tradition and is known around the world for its academics. I'm really looking forward to being around players who crave excellence in every area of their lives."

Maker was at Creighton last season as an assistant. He replaces Dave Paulsen, who left Williams to become the head coach at Bucknell. Paulsen was 170-53 in eight seasons.