Kordell Charles returns from injury, updates recruitment
What a difference a year can make.
Kordell Charles started to see his recruitment blossom after a good showing at the NCAA Academy camp in Houston, Texas in July 2019. Four months later he suffered a season ending injury. Now, after enrolling at IMG Academy, Charles is back on the court and landing on the radar of high major programs.
“The injury itself wasn't that bad but it was a nonunion fracture, so it wasn't going to heal properly by itself,” said Charles of his fractured tibia. “It happened in late October last year.
“The recovery process, you know, Covid kind of slowed that down because there wasn't really anything open to me like, physical therapy and everything. So, I would say that made the recovery process a lot longer than it should have been.”
During the first weekend of October, Charles and IMG Select 17U won the Big Shots Myrtle Beach Hoopfest with Charles earning tournament MVP honors.
“It was my first time playing and over a year now,” Charles said. “I really just went over there with an open mindset, you know, just kind of let the games come to me. Just really to get comfortable being out there again. I think I played well. It was just a great experience to finally get out there and play again.”
Illinois and South Florida (USF) also thought Charles played well and demonstrated that by offering him a few days after the event. He also holds offers from Detroit, Illinois, Ohio, St. Bonaventure, Tulsa and USC. Charles said Iowa State, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Princeton and Virginia Tech are some of the programs in the mix with him.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Illinois: So, for a while now I've been in contact with Coach [Stephen] Gentry. After the tournament, coach [Orlando] Antigua and coach Gentry both reached out to me. It was coach Antigua who actually offered me. They want me to come in there and be an impact player from the start at the three position, or if they go small ball a little bit of the four too.
USF: That started recently. They messaged me, like, the day after the tournament, and then they offered me a few days later. It was coach [Tom] Herrion who offered me. They want to bring in a talented and versatile wing.
Pittsburgh: Pitt has been talking to me pretty regularly. Coach Milan has been talking to me for a little while. We built a pretty good relationship. I really haven’t done much numbers research in terms of who they got on their team or or what spots that I could possibly fill next year if they offered me a scholarship.
Iowa State: Coach Small was the assistant coach who originally started recruiting me there. Then it branched out to the head coach, Prohm. They see me as a very versatile player who could play in multiple spots.
Virginia Tech: I was on a Zoom with Coach Young this summer. They’re basically in a kind of a rebuild situation is what they kind of described to me. They're saying, basically, if I was to come this year, that'd be the most athletic player there.
RIVALS REACTION: Once a Rivals top-100 prospect, Charles moved down the rankings while sidelined last season and this summer. After his performance earlier this month in South Carolina, high major programs are either entering Charles’ recruitment or re-connecting with him. We expect to see that continue and to see his stock rise playing for coach Chad Myers on the IMG Academy Post Grad team. Look for Charles to be patient with his recruitment, holding off until the NCAA allows visits.