Faber considering all options

Krystopher Faber, 6-foot-11, 246-pound big man from Ribet Academy in Los Angeles, may not be a name that rings a bell in the class of 2008 but it is starting to catch on.

The big man has quietly become a must-see player for a number of programs and interest is starting to grow for the under the radar prospect, according to his coach William Middlebrooks.

Minnesota has shown serious interest of late and Faber will visit the Big Ten school officially on November 3. Middlebrooks said Tubby Smith has struck a chord with his big man.

"I'd say that they are probably the forerunner right now," Middlebrooks said of the Gophers. "There have been a lot of schools that have come in and shown a lot of interest lately. A lot of coaches are coming through so I think it's just a matter of seeing how it goes and then where it falls within the thick of things.

"He went to Northern Illinois last weekend and liked it a lot."

The whirlwind of attention is starting pick up quickly. Connecticut has been out to see Faber twice already, including a cross-country trip from Jim Calhoun.

St. John's and Washington State will be out to see him in the short near future, Middlebrooks said. Colorado State, Northern Illinois, Vanderbilt, Pepperdine, UC-Santa Barbara, San Fransisco, Tulsa, SMU and Utah have either been in or shown significant interest.

With the visits, the in school appearances from coaches and more options than ever before, Middlebrooks said Faber and his family are trying to sort through the vast amount of schools that are hoping to seal the deal.

"I'm not sure what he's going to do. I think in his parents' mind, they would like for him to wait until the spring. Initially, that was the plan. Then he heated up and is going beyond what they expected but I knew this was going to happen," Middlebrooks said.

"He's a good player and it just took people a little longer to see him. Sometimes these things take time or they need to do whatever they need to do to determine him as a player that can play at that high level. When coach Calhoun was here, he said (Faber) is further along at this stage than Emeka Oakafor was. With both of them, it just happened a little later and it was God's plan. Now he just has to roll with it and see where this takes him."

Like all players, fit matters. But fit won't be singled on basketball alone, the coach says.

"I think his parents are starting to see what kind of options he has and I think they really want him to go to a school where he can grow more as a person than a basketball player. I don't think too many people understand that he's perfectly fine with going to a mid-major," Middlebrooks said. "He wants to connect with the head coach and the school and not go there because it's a marquee program. It doesn't matter if it is UCLA or San Francisco. The family wants a place where the coach is going to look out for him on the human side of things."