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SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Five-star Jeremy Roach is focused on recovering from knee surgery that has sidelined him for the rest of his junior season.
“I am all done with surgery and I am doing PT two times a week, so I am feeling good,” Roach said. “Nine months brings me back in August.”
While he will miss his entire junior season and senior summer on the travel ball circuit, Roach remains a priority for each of his finalists: Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and Villanova.
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IN HIS OWN WORDS
Duke: “The visit there was really good. I got to see how they work down there and the environment. They have that bond and that family feel down there. The fan base is crazy and it is just a great school.”
Kentucky: “I went there for an exhibition game (last year). The fan base is crazy and it is sold out every game, even for their exhibition games. Their fans are loyal. He (John Calipari) is saying that I am their guy that they want and that they want me and need me there.”
North Carolina: “They are saying that they can help fulfill my dreams and help me get to the NBA and that it is the best way for me to go.”
Villanova: “I visited there earlier this fall. It is a great program. Jay Wright is a great coach that develops his players and he has just told me that he wants to help me fulfill my dreams of getting to the NBA and he just feels like he is the best to do it, both mentally and physically.”
RIVALS' REACTION
Roach took an official visit to Duke in the fall and hopes to see his remaining three finalists before the summer.
“UNC is trying to get me down for a game soon, so I am trying to get down there next month,” he said. “Duke, they want for me to get down to a game soon, too, and Kentucky wants for me to do an official visit there in the spring.”
The five-star prospect has a rough idea of when he wants to make a decision.
“I haven’t thought about a timetable but probably sometime in the summer time,” he said.
Roach has talked with USA Basketball U17 teammates Jalen Johnson, B.J. Boston, Jalen Green and Scottie Barnes about teaming up again, though this time in college.
“We talk in the dorm rooms normally while we are down there and maybe about going to school together,” he said. “For them, they still have some time to go because they haven’t narrowed it down like I have but I am just trying to pick the right one for me for now.”
