Eddie looking at a number of menus

After basketball is over for Jarell Eddie, the 6-foot-7, 209-pound forward from the Cannon School in Concord, N.C., hopes to start his own restaurant and hotel company. But before he dives into the business world, the sophomore is looking over a fine menu of options for college.

The Class of 2010 prospect is quickly becoming a must-see prospect in his class and the budding prospect has been a busy man on the visit trail.

Eddie has unofficially visited Clemson, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Ohio State and Kentucky so far this fall. Eddie said the visits are a huge help in the grand scheme of things.

"It helps me a lot. I get to see how the social life is and where I'll be staying and how big the schools are," Eddie said. "I'm looking to get maybe major in hospitality management so it's been good to see as much as I can with that. I get to ask myself, 'How would I fit in there and will it be fun there?' I really like the trips I've taken."

So far, the Big Blue menu is looking the tastiest while a couple of other programs have made the youngster perk up, he says.

"I think Kentucky stands out. I like Kentucky. The whole city of Lexington is into Kentucky athletics. They made me feel real welcomed. Another school that stands out is Clemson because their coaching staff just makes you feel real welcome with their style," Eddie said.

"Virginia Tech stands out for the same reason. And so does Ohio State. They have a great atompsohre. But, yeah, Kentucky; just the way they support their teams in football and basketball. It's just so serious. I love that. I love that."

Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Miami, North Carolina and NC State are also in the mix.

Eddie, who averaged 15.6 points and 9.4 rebounds a game as a freshman for the Cannon School (28-5 last year), said he is done with his visits for now.

"I think I am. I'll go to a couple of games during the season but for the most part I'll be at home back in the gym and working with my school team. We're going to be, going on great," he said.

Eddie has played varsity ball at the Cannon School since he was in the eighth grade. But unlike his high school career, Eddie said he doesn't anticipate speeding up his recruitment and making an early decision.

"In my opinion, I'm not going towards committing early because it takes the fun out of recruiting. They'll start saying, 'Oh, well he's going to that school so we don't have to recruit him anymore.' I feel like if you take the fun out of it and then you don't want to commit to a school and you realize your senior year that you just don't want to go there anymore," Eddie said.

"You then have to get back out there on the market because everyone has basically forgotten about you. So I think I'm going to wait and play things out and see as many schools as I can see where I can feel the most comfortable at."