CLEMSON — The Clemson basketball program took a big step forward in becoming a national player Wednesday, and it is a step everyone in the country saw coming.

With the signing of Summerville’s Milton Jennings, Whitmire’s Devin Booker and Virginia Beach’s Donte Hill, head coach Oliver Purnell said Clemson sent a clear message to the ACC and to the rest of the country.

“The number one thing we wanted to do when we got here was change our image, internally and externally,” he said. “Internally with our players on campus, our students and fans and all of that. Externally with the media and recruits.”

Jennings, a 6-foot-9 forward, has been committed to the Tigers since last spring and is rated as a top 50 prospect by nearly every recruiting service. He is arguably Clemson’s highest-rated signee since Sharone Wright in 1991.

“Guys like Milton Jennings are not only opening the door and asking us to come in and talk, but they are coming to campus and taking a look around a special place,” Purnell said. “Once they do that, we have a shot.”

Jennings scored over 1,800 points in his high school career heading into this season at Pinewood Prep. He averaged 18.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 4.2 blocked shots per game as a junior when he was named South Carolina’s Gatorade Player of the Year. He has led the Panthers to three straight SCISA championships at the Class AAA level.

Jennings is listed as the nation’s No. 12 prospect, regardless of position, by Rivals.com. He is also No. 16 according to ESPNU and Prep Stars, No. 23 by Scout.com, and No. 33 by Hoop Scoop. He chose Clemson over scholarship offers from Florida, Connecticut, Georgetown, and UCLA.

“We look at him being a front line ACC player very quickly,” Purnell said.

The Tigers also see Booker (6-7), the younger brother of current Tigers Trevor Booker, to also be a threat in the post. Devin Booker, the No. 63 rated player by Scout, averaged 22.1 points, 14.6 rebounds, and 3.3 blocked shots per game as a junior for Union County High School last season.

The 225-pound power forward is also ranked No. 66 in the nation by Prep Stars and is a member of the top nation’s top 150 according to Rivals.com and Hoop Scoop.

An All-Region player, Booker made over 60 percent of his field goal attempts. He had a season-high 34 points against Greer and pulled down 22 rebounds the same week in a game against Riverside.

Purnell was thrilled to be able to keep two of the state’s biggest prospects at home.

“It is important when we do have excellent prospects in the state, that we get our share, if not most of them,” the Clemson coach said. “We have done that over the years, going back to Sam Perry and Trevor (Booker). Those guys have been very impactful for us. Getting these two was very important.

“Both of them have a chance to big time frontline players and for both of them to be from this state, I’m real pleased about that.”

He is also pleased with signing Hill. The 6-foot-5 guard is what Purnell says, “Makes the class better than what people think.”

“I think the class is a little bit better than what people think because of Donte Hill, and that’s because of our system and style,” he said. “He really fits into what we need in getting back to our system and our style. We are recruiting so many skill players now that we don’t want to have so many skill players and not have any defenders.”

Hill comes to Clemson from the Norfolk Collegiate School. The wing player, who averaged 20.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game as a junior, is cited as a three-star prospect by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. He is ranked as high as the nation’s No. 109 prospect by HoopsReport.com. The All-Tidewater performer chose Clemson over offers from Marquette and Old Dominion.

Besides being one of the best perimeter defenders he saw, Purnell also likes Hill’s character and what he brings to the team, two of the primary reasons why he offered him instead of several other highly touted prospects that were showing interest in Clemson.

“It was defense and the fact that he really wanted to be a Clemson Tiger,” Purnell said. “I think that desire and defensive ability are two intangibles that are hard to find. That is just an individual assessment by our coaching staff in what fits us best.

“He is a lot like Cliff Hammonds. He really fits well. He is a Clemson guy. He is what we call a Clemson guy. He is a good student, a good person and a tremendous athlete. His high school team won, his AAU team won so it is just a lot of intangibles that fit well, not to mention his physical stature. He is a big strong athlete.”

And Clemson has a strong 2008 class, which Scout says is the 18th best in the country.

“We are able now to make a sales pitch and to have a conversation with some of the top players in the country,” Purnell said. “The message that sends and the symbolism with a Milton Jennings signing is very important in changing our image. The image has been changed.”