Close To Committing
Chris Richard, a well proportioned 6-8, 230 pound power forward from Kathleen H.S. in Lakeland, Fla., is down to four colleges this spring.
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At the recent Rumble in the Bronx Tournament in New York, Richard said that he is only considering Miami, Alabama, Auburn and Florida, and could make a decision within the next two weeks.
"I am still looking at them all -- me, my mom, my brother and my coach," Richard said. "I think in two weeks I might announce."
Richard most recently took an unofficial visit to Alabama. He also attended basketball camp at Florida, and a big man camp at Auburn. He has also had the opportunity to unofficially visit Miami.
"I don't really have a leader, I try to look at the schools that play similar to my high school, which is get out and press and trap," Richard said.
Richard's recent trip to Auburn's big man camp was a revealing one.
"The campus was nice, and I came in underestimating the players," he said. "I thought I was just going to come in and dog them, but they were better than I thought."
Richard met his Tallahassee Wildcat squad at the Rumble after making an unofficial visit to Alabama.
"I had been up there a couple of times already, and it's nice," he said. "All of the schools are somewhat similar being in the south, they are only an hour and a half or two hours away."
Richard also ventured down of the southern part of the Sunshine State to check in with Perry Clark's Miami Hurricane program in recent months.
"I played pick up with the players and they have some nice talent down there," Richard said. "They ran the court like all of the other schools and do things like we do at Kathleen."
Within the past two weeks, Richard also played in the basketball camp at the University of Florida, which is the closest to his home of the four finalists on his list.
"It was fine, they had Mike Miller and Jason Williams come down, so we had a chance to play with them and against them," Richard said. "Plus I have family down in Gainesville, so that's another thing."
An impressive physical specimen with good athleticism, Richard averaged 18 points, nine rebounds and six blocks per game this past season at Kathleen H.S. He said he has a 3.2 GPA and scored a 17 on the ACT.
Richard expects to attend the Nike All-American Camp this summer and travel the Nike circuit with John Adkins' Tallahassee Wildcat program.
