Hoophall West: Four-star big Frank Anselem discusses visits
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. --At the Hoophall West, four-star junior big man Frank Anselem is one of the most sought after 2021 prospects. The question is whether or not he could move into the class of 2020.
A native of Lagos, Nigeria who moved to the States in 2016, th4 6-foot-9 post player has made the move from the Atlanta area to Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep for his junior season. He's happy about the move.
"Prolific is one of the top schools in the country," said Anselem. "We just got the ball rolling and it’s been good ever since. Great people, great environment, great setup, great players, great coaches, great program and a lot of history. It’s been pretty good.
There is a lack of available bigs with high major ability and Anselem has made official visits to Arizona, LSU and Nebraska. Those visits have fueled talk that he could eventually enroll as a 2020 prospect but for now Anselem said that it's just talk.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Anselem discussed his three official visits.
Arizona: "(Sean) Miller is like way up there. Everyone knows his history. He hasn’t been to the Final Four so he was like Franky, you could come in and you can help us try to win a national championship. They have three NBA first round picks right now on that team. This year they are going to be good; they just got to keep working.
LSU: "(Will) Wade and Coach Bill (Armstrong), they’re my guys. They’re great people. Everyone loves Coach Wade. He won the SEC championship last year, so he definitely knows what he’s doing. Coach Bill, he’s a very good people person.
Nebraska: "Nebraska was cool. They have top facilities. Nebraska was really, really good. They know what they’re doing over there. They had a football game against Ohio State and they lost by a lot, but besides that the visit was great.
"Fred Hoiberg is great coach. He’s worked everywhere. He used to coach in the NBA. He coached college. He has a great winning history. He has a plan set for me."
RIVALS REACTION
While Anselem has taken three visits, he mentioned that others like USC, Arizona State, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Gonzaga are involved and that he remains open. However, the schools that he has visited may have a slight leg up on the conversation and there is a school of thought that if there is a team to beat that it is LSU.
Clearly, if Anselem really stays in 2021 there is a lot of time for things to change. So, his situation is going to be one to watch and at least for now he's saying he's in no rush to make a decision on a school much less a class change and he's just focused on ball.
"I’m just going with the flow," said Anselem. "The season is great, I’m just hooping and I’m happy."