Towson landed its first commitment of the 2009 class Monday when shooting guard Will Adams from Philadelphia’s Imhotep Charter pledged to the Tigers.

Adams chose Towson over offers from Drexel, James Madison, Rider and several others.

The 6-foot-4, 195-pounder visited Towson a week and a half ago with his coach, Andre Noble. Adams said he was immediately sold on Towson.

“It hit me when I was there, right when I stepped out (of) the car,” Adams said. “I really liked the campus. It’s really a nice-sized campus. I really like the environment and everything is nice. It’s not too far away from my area, but not too close. And it’s just a beautiful campus.”

Adams said he wanted to commit immediately, but Noble advised him to return to Philadelphia and give it some thought. Adams said it wasn’t easy waiting a week and a half, when he knew all along exactly what he wanted to do.

“It was nice and it was a good opportunity for me, so why not take it?” Adams said. “It was one of the best opportunities for me recruiting-wise, so I said 'we’ve got to get this done.' I took a week and a half to think about it, made the decision to [pick Towson]. As soon as I went home I still knew I wanted to go to Towson.”

The Tigers started recruiting Adams at the beginning of the summer. According to Noble, Adams was immediately impressed with Towson head coach Pat Kennedy.

“Coaches have been on [Adams] all summer, going to all the things he’s been at,” Noble said. “From the first conversation [he had with Kennedy], at the beginning of the summer, Will called me and said, ‘I really liked that guy, coach Kennedy.’ ... I felt really good about coach Kennedy and felt he was someone Will could develop with.”

Adams said his relationship with Kennedy made his choice even easier.

“Coach Kennedy, he’s a really good guy,” Adams said. “I liked him when I first talked to him. He didn’t pressure me or fill my head with a lot of stuff. It felt like I could relate to him. It seemed like he helped out so much with his players. He just approached me the right way. He just made me want to hop on board and play for him.”

As a junior, Adams led Imhotep Charter in scoring with 15 points per game. He’s on pace to become the school’s all-time leading scorer. Noble said he expects Adams to make an impact at Towson immediately.

“Primarily what Will does is he’s an athletic shooter that’s very athletic in transition,” Noble said. “A lot of shooters are just shooters, and that’s their role. But Will is a very good finisher in transition and has very good athletic ability. This year we’re going to use him all over court. He has good size, 6-4, 195. He’s put together pretty well, so he’s very good in transition and can really shoot the deep ball. Will can pretty much shoot the NBA 3.”

Adams said he’s excited to get back on the court as a senior and then fulfill the Towson staff’s expectations of him next season.

“They want me to come in and work hard [and hopefully I’ll] get a lot of time as a freshman,” Adams said. “I’ll just come in, work my tail off. It should be nice. ... I’m just [excited] to go with Towson.”