DeShawn Painter, a 6-foot-9, 210-pound center from Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military Academy, chose N.C. State over Maryland and Virginia Tech on Wednesday.

“He’s going to N.C. State,” Hargrave coach Kevin Keatts said. “I just think he had two really good visits [to Maryland and N.C. State]. Both places were great. I think he just felt a little bit more comfortable with the N.C. state staff and he decided that he wanted to go to N.C. State.”

Painter, who initially committed to Florida last May, is the No. 18 center in the Class of 2009.

“He’s going to bring energy to the post and have a chance to score inside and out,” Keatts said. “And I think he’ll be a good player for them.”