Your Saint Joe’s Hawks have landed their first recruit from the Class of 2010: C.J. Aiken, a 6-9, 185-pound really skinny big man from Plymouth Whitemarsh High in Montgomery County. Interestingly, Aiken’s other finalists were the two Big 5 schools in North Philly, and all three really wanted him, based on various reports.

Obviously, as today’s stories in The Inquirer, the Daily News and The Times Herald of Norristown make clear, Aiken will need to put on some weight by the time he gets to Hawk Hill. But we saw him play as a sophomore, when he was still at La Salle High, from which he transferred before his junior year. He’s got the requisite big-man skills (shot-blocking, rebounding), but he’s also got a nice touch around the basket. There is potential here — rivals.com ranks him No. 42 in his class, for whatever that’s worth — and Phil Martelli has shown the ability to take individual players with potential in recent years and help them improve (see also: Calathes, Pat; and Nivins, Ahmad).

One interesting side note: Aiken had lived in the Abington School District when he attended La Salle, but all three stories now say he lives in Conshohocken, which is PW territory. The transfer (and move) had raised a few eyebrows among coaches around the Suburban One League last summer, but Aiken’s transfer never would up being challenged through the proper channels.

Links: Aiken to 54th and City Ave. [The Inquirer]
Ditto [Daily News]
Ditto ditto [Times Herald]