Hester, Florida resume recruiting talks

Considered by many to be the No. 2 guard prospect in the state of Florida for the 2016 class, four-star Eric Hester holds 15 offers and recently regained contact with an SEC school that was falling off his radar.

Florida invited Hester to its elite camp last summer and at one point seemed to prioritize the combo guard. Then, he didn't hear much from the Gators until newly hired head coach Mike White called him a few hours after his introductory press conference.

"An assistant called, then coach White called," Hester said. "They talked about how they love the way I play. They love my defense. They want a guy like me to play up-tempo and be all over the court. Coach White said that he heard lots of good things about me from his coaching staff."

Hester also updated Rivals.com on his unofficial visit to South Florida.

"I thought it went good," Hester said. "They showed me part of the campus that I haven't seen before. They explained more how the players live and everything so it was pretty good."

The Oldsmar Christian (Oldsmar, Fla) guard had a chance to play in pick-up games with the team and talk with the USF coaching staff.

"They had worked out and played a couple of games before I got there so they were a little tired but it was good," Hester said. "Coach (Orlando) Antigua said he liked my defense. My shot has gotten better since the last time he saw me. I want to start working out now. He said some kids wait until they get to college but he wants me to start working out a little bit more so I won't get pushed around. Those guys are pretty strong."

Hester listed Indiana, Texas A&M, Florida State, UCF and Temple as schools from which he has been hearing from most frequently. However, Florida State recently received a commitment from 2016 SG Trent Forrest.

Many felt that Louisville may have been his leader, but Hester didn't take an unofficial visit to Louisville while his Team Breakdown squad was in town for the Under Armour Association's second session last month.

"I'm not really sure," Hester said on where things stand with Louisville. "I hear from coach (Mike) Balado every now and then but it's not how it used to be on a consistent level."

For now, Hester is not concentrating on his recruitment. So what is he focused on? His AAU season. Through eight Under Armour Association games with Team Breakdown, Hester is averaging nine points, four rebounds and two assists.

"Breakdown is kind of struggling (5-3 in the UAA after a 3-1 start)," he said. "Finish out strong and get prepared for the high school season."

The California native relocated to the Tampa area, where he has relatives, to attend Oldsmar Christian. Hester thinks he could stay in Florida to attend college.

"I'm not really sure, it's a 50-50 chance," he said. "I do want to stay close to home. Then again, if a college fits me outside of Tampa or outside of the state I will go to that college."

Russ Wood is a contributing national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.

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