The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Downey, from Chester (S.C.) High School, visited the UC campus this weekend. He flew home at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, consulted with his parents, then called Huggins at about 5:30 p.m. to tell him he planned to sign a letter of intent during the fall signing period in November.

"I love Cincinnati, and I just love the coaching staff and the players," Downey said. "I like coach Huggins. I feel like I can go somewhere where I don't have to change who I am. He lets you be who you are."

Downey averaged 25.6 points and 6.0 assists last year as a junior. He's considered a Top 50 recruit by most recruiting services.

He visited Arkansas and Tennessee and had scheduled a visit with Texas. He was also considering Illinois. But after his UC trip, he made his decision.

"It was an opportunity for him to go to a good situation," said Dion Bethea, Downey's AAU coach on the South Carolina Ravens. "Cincinnati is known for producing real good guards like Nick Van Exel and Steve Logan. Huggins allowed them to shoot the ball. That's what Devon likes to do."

Said Downey: "I think I'm a scoring point guard. I don't see any reason why I should go into a situation where a coach is going to put handcuffs on my game. Coach Huggins is going to let me play my game."

Downey is the second player to commit to UC for the 2005 recruiting class, joining Tyree Evans, a 6-3 shooting guard from Richmond, Va.