As one of the elite scoring guards in the East, Gerard Coleman knows how the recruiting game works.

The Boston native heard from Connecticut, Louisville, Miami, Clemson and several other big-name schools over the course of the last two years. But he always had a soft spot in his heart for Providence, especially when Keno Davis and assistant Pat Skerry kept showing up at his games over the last year. So when it was time to pick a college, Coleman decided to act quickly.

Instead of risking his spot at Providence over the course of a long summer, Coleman contacted Davis this weekend and verbally committed to the Friars. Coleman is the first member of the Friars’ recruiting class of 2010.

“I was all set with Providence and didn’t want to risk losing my spot with them,” said Coleman, a 6-3 scoring guard. “I like the way they play. There’s a lot of good times to come at Providence.”

Coleman, who said he picked PC over UConn and Clemson, will be a senior at Tilton Academy in New Hampshire this fall. He is a native of Mattapan in Boston and has starred for several years with the Boston Amateur Basketball Club teams run by Celtics personnel chief Leo Papile. Chris Driscoll helps run the BABC, and he feels PC has recorded a major coup.

“He can score and he’s quick,” said Driscoll. “He’s as quick as anybody I’ve seen with us, and we’ve had some good ones over the years. He can really score in bunches.”

Coleman is the highest-rated recruit Davis has signed in his one-plus year at PC. None of the seven incoming recruits in the class of 2009 were ranked as high. Coleman is rated the 64th-best prospect in the Class of 2010 by Scout.com and number 88 by Rivals.com.

PC’s proximity to Boston, Davis’ uptempo system and Coleman’s familiarity with Skerry and some of the Friar players all played a role in his decision. Coleman has been to PC three times and saw “two or three games” this past season.

“The way they play fits my game exactly,” said Coleman. “They give their guards a lot of freedom. We can have one of the best backcourts around.”

Davis signed three guards in the upcoming freshman class: point guards Vincent Council and Johnnie Lacy and combo guard Duke Mondy. Coleman would add even more scoring punch to the group. Davis, Skerry and fellow assistants Chris Davis and Rodell Davis will now focus on frontcourt players with two remaining scholarships available for 2010.

kmcnamar@projo.com