Florida big man has variety of suitors
Raw but skilled. That is a good way to describe Francis Aihe, a 6-foot-9, 190-pound forward from Winter Park (Fla.) High School. According to his high school coach Matt Hixenbaugh, that is exactly what a number of colleges like in his big man.
Aihe is a super athletic shot blocker with a developing offensive game. The long and lanky athlete runs the floor exceptionally well. One glance at his vitals, particularly his weight, it’s a no-brainer as to what he must improve on.
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“He needs to put on weight and get stronger,” Hixenbaugh said. “When he’s in shape he’s pretty good. When he gets tired, there is a huge drop off in his play. Sometimes he just gets lazy when he gets tired but he’s going to get better.
“He has great upside. It’s just his toughness and how hard he’s going to work that determines just how good he can be.”
With the raw skill set that Aihe has, college coaches see something that they like. What level he can eventually play at is still being determined. That’s evident by the schools involved.
“His recruitment is all over the board,” Hixenbaugh said. “Purdue loves him. Clemson, Auburn, Tennessee and those kinds of schools are interested.
"And then you have Florida Atlantic and I know they’d love to have him. So would Garner-Webb and a then there is a Division II school, Rollins, here that thinks he’d be perfect for them. So, yeah, all kinds of schools want him.”