re: UA Basketball Recruiting

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The next few weeks are shaping up to be life-changing for Charles Bediako.

The 6-foot-10, 218-pound Canadian big man will head south of the border to IMG Academy (FL) later this week for his final year of high school. He then plans to cut his college list from 10 a couple of week after that, with an eye toward making a college decision sometime in early 2021.

“I head down on Friday [to IMG],” Bediako, ranked the No. 3 center in 2021 by 247Sports.com, said Monday by phone from Hamilton, Ontario. “I’m excited to get down to Florida and start working.”

After previously playing at Andrews Osborne Academy in Ohio, Bediako felt he would be best suited spending his final season facing stiffer competition.

“What pretty much made me want to go down there was the facilities and I just kind of wanted to test the waters down there,” he said. “The school that I was at previously was good, but I felt I needed to be challenged a bit more. So the opportunity was there and I made the decision to come down.

“I just want want to get my body right so I’m ready for college and there are also some more skills I can learn, life skills.”

In terms of his recruitment, Bediako has a top 10 of Memphis, Alabama, Texas, Baylor, Maryland, Duke, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio State and USC. He has recently done Zoom calls with Duke, Michigan, Alabama, Baylor, Texas, and Tennessee.

“Every school’s been doing their part,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a real frontrunner as of right now, they all pretty much say the same thing. Some schools talk to me a bit more than others but it’s all part of the process.

He plans to cut his list “sometime by mid-September,” he said. “That’s the plan, maybe five or six [schools].”

As far as a commitment date, Bediako, who stands 7 feet with shoes, is eyeing early 2021.

“The original plan was to commit sometime in November before this whole pandemic stuff, but hopefully if all goes well maybe probably February or March,” he said.

In the meantime, he wants to work on “my face-up game, guarding the perimeter a bit and also just my ball-handling. I want to get bigger or stronger.

“I want to be a stretch-five or four.”

There are an increasing number of Canadian NBA players, with several in the bubble, including Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort of the Thunder and Jamal Murray of the Nuggets.

Bediako would like to follow in their footsteps in a couple of years.

“To play in the NBA,” he said, “that’s one of my goals.”

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There's no publicity stunt here. Michigan was one of JD Davison’s dream schools growing up. That doesn’t mean the Wolverines have much of a chance, however, because they are trailing the other five schools on his list when it comes to securing his commitment.

The other schools consist of Alabama, Auburn, Kansas, LSU and Memphis. I think that it comes down to the two in-state schools, Alabama and Auburn, and LSU, which holds my FutureCast prediction for him.

Michigan has three perimeter commitments already, but the Wolverines would be entirely fine if Davison - on a whim - committed to them. The Wolverines need a true center that can hold down the fort along the interior and a complete home run pick-up in the mold of Davison. Their chances are slim, but at least they made the cut. There is still time in his recruitment, which might be just what Juwan Howard needs in order to make Davison’s childhood dream a reality.

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Where will JD Davison go? This question is stirring in the minds of basketball fans, as the No. 2 point guard nationally in the Class of 2021 released his top six last Friday.

Will he join one of the in-state powers, further extending the bitter rivalry between Alabama and Auburn?

Will Penny Hardaway's recruiting prowess win him over to Memphis? Or does the 5-star prospect take the 'blueblood' route and join Bill Self and Jayhawk nation?

It's too early to tell, but Davison, the No. 14 player in the Class of 2021, according to ESPN, gave the Advertiser a little insight on why he chose each school Monday when the Calhoun School players received their 2020 state championship rings.

Here's what he had to say about each.

Alabama

Nate Oats, who coached the Crimson Tide to a 16-15 record in his first season, is known for his fast-paced, ball-pressuring, run-and-gun style. Davison thrives in a system like this and plays in a similar system under coach Ervin Starr at Calhoun.

This is what attracts Davison the most to Alabama, he told the Advertiser, as his athleticism and elite court vision would thrive at its highest capacity in this style of play.

Davison: "For Alabama, it's how they are coming at me, the coaching staff and mostly the style of play."

Auburn

What would pull Davison away from Alabama, and others, into Auburn's grips? The answer: the recent history of its point guard play and the history it hopes to build.

Davison said he has been paying attention to guards who have come through Auburn lately and referred to the Tigers as 'PGU' (Point Guard University).

The addition of Sharife Cooper, the No. 2 point guard in the Class of 2020, per 247Sports, further solidifies Davison's claim and makes Tigers serious contenders for Davison's services.

Davison: "You have top point guards going through there, so they fit me right ... 'PGU.'"

Kansas

The bluebood always speaks and often gets the final word. Kansas is the household basketball name of the group and Davison knows it.

He referred to the Jayhawks as a "dream" school when talking with the Advertiser, but will that be enough to get him to commit? The Jayhawks already have two ESPN Top 100 commits from the Class of 2021, thus far.

Davison: "You know Kansas. That's a 'bluebood' school and one of my dream schools. So, yea I think about that (Kansas)."

LSU

No different than what he feels about Alabama, play style is the name to the game here. Coach Will Wade wants to play with transition in mind, creating scoring opportunities through defensive pressure and outlets.

This style helped the Tigers reach the Sweet 16 in 2018-2019 and Davison seems adamant on playing in these type of systems.

Davison: "Oh yea, they play fast down the court defense, so I just think they fit me, too."

Memphis

Davison said he can look no further than names like Hardaway and Derrick Rose. With the name recognition Memphis brings and the recruiting power Hardaway wields, imagining Davison in a Memphis jersey is not hard.

A season ago, Hardaway sported a roster with five players from ESPN's Top 100 for the Class of 2019 and will add another from the Class of 2020 this season. Will Davison be the first for the 2021 Class?

Davison: "Memphis, you have hall of fame coaches, hall of fame players coming through there."

Michigan

What draws Davison to Michigan? Yes, it's the obvious: Coach Juwan Howard. Davison said he likes the history behind Howard and his time at Michigan.

Last season was Howard's first with the Wolverines as a coach and where he led them to 19-12 record before the COVID-19 pandemic cut postseason short.

Davison: "You have Juwan Howard — Hall of Famer — and other good coaches. And their style of play really fits me."

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2022 5 star Jalen Washington has been in contact with the following programs over the last week:

Stanford (offer)
Michigan State
Maryland
Michigan State
Alabama
Louisville
South Carolina
Purdue
Indiana

6’8 wing/forward primed for a dominant junior campaign at Gary West Side HS

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