Carlino officially signs

From UCLA:

UCLA head coach Ben Howland announced today the signing of Matt Carlino to a National Letter of Intent to attend UCLA in the fall of 2010.

Carlino, a 6-foot-2-inch, 175-pound guard out of Scottsdale, Ariz., (Bloomington South HS, Bloomington, Ind.), will graduate a year early from high school and enroll at UCLA this summer.

Carlino joins Lazeric Jones, a 6-foot-2-inch, 195-pound guard out of Chicago, Ill., (John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill.) in the late signing class and joins the early signing class, which consisted of Tyler Lamb, a 6-foot-4-inch, 195-pound guard out of Santa Ana, Calif., and Mater Dei High School and Josh Smith, a 6-foot-10-inch, 280-pound center from Kent, Wash., and Kentwood High School.

"I'm really excited about Matt Carlino joining our basketball program and family," Howland said. "He is an outstanding shooter, a very good passer, a good athlete and an outstanding kid. I look for him to make an immediate impact and be a very good player for us. I think he is an outstanding addition to our team."

Carlino averaged 13.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while leading Bloomington South HS to a 23-1 overall record as a junior in 2009-10. The Panthers won the Conference Indiana title with a 7-0 mark. BSHS lost to Jeffersonville 58-56 in the 4A State Regional Finals this past season and was ranked as the No. 1 team in the state for most of the season. Carlino was named to the Indiana Junior All-Star Team and to the All-Conference Indiana Team in 2009-10.

He compiled a 76-11 (.874) overall record during his prep career, which has included starting all three years for a No. 1 ranked team in the state. He played his first two seasons at Highland High School in Gilbert, Ariz., where he was coached by his father, Mark Carlino.

While starting his first two years at point guard, he led the Highland Hawks to a 29-4 mark in 2008-09 (sophomore season) and a 24-6 record in 2007-08 (freshman campaign). As a sophomore, he averaged 19.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 2.7 steals per game while being named first team All-State and the Fiesta Region Player of the Year, as well as the East Valley Player of the Year. HHS lost in the state finals 70-62 to St. Mary's High School (Phoenix). As a freshman, he averaged 16.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game. He was named first team All-Fiesta Region and second team All-State in 2007-08.