Babbitt down to five

One of the most highly recruited 2008 power forwards in the country, Luke Babbitt now has his list down to five schools. Four of those schools have been there from the beginning, but one is a new entry.

Babbitt, 6-foot-8, 215-pounds from Galena High School in Reno, Nev., now lists Nevada, Arizona, UCLA, Gonzaga and the recently added Ohio State.

"Ohio State heard that I'm originally from Cincinnati and started recruiting me," said Babbitt. "Coach Matta is building a great program. They have a lot of big recruits, are ranked high and are turning Ohio State into a big basketball school."

Without a leader at this point, Babbitt doesn't want his recruitment to stretch out too long, but he does want to study the play of the five teams this year and take some unofficial visits before he makes a decision.

"I probably won't wait until next fall to make a decision, but I'd like to visit the campuses of all the schools." he said. "I've already visited Arizona and UCLA and would like to get on campus at UCLA again when we play in L.A. this year.

"I want to make sure I find a spot where I am comfortable with the coaches and players. I want to play for coaches I can trust and with players that I fit in with."

Babbitt opened the season this weekend with a tough match up in San Jose, Calif., against Drew Gordon and Archbishop Mitty. Galena fell 76-60, with Babbitt going for 20 points and 9 rebounds. Gordon scored 22 points in the game.

Luke Babbitt scouting report:

A versatile player who can score inside with his penchant for establishing position and then with his agile footwork, Babbitt also has a very nice face up jumper out to the three-point line. Also skilled as a passer and rebounder, Babbitt has the ability to impact the game anywhere on the court offensively. However, his suspect foot speed and lack of explosiveness are a concern defensively.