IRVING, Tex. – The top-ranked junior in America, Vernon Carey Jr. stepped onto the floor Friday evening with some of the most powerful eyes in college basketball watching his every move. There was Kentucky's John Calipari, Florida’s Mike White, Duke’s Coach K, Miami’s Jim Larranaga, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and North Carolina’s Roy Williams. By the time he was done, Carey had put together another dominant showing, with 17 points and six rebounds while leading his Nike Team Florida unit to its first win of the Nike EYBL season.
A priority recruit for the bluest of the bluebloods, Carey is a tremendous package of ball skills, size, strength, bloodlines and intangibles. The attention that he has received hasn’t tapered since his high school career began, as he remains a name brand program must. “It has been going well,” he said. “Coaches have just been trying to sell their program and I am just listening to it and seeing where I would fit best.”
Since the spring evaluation periods began three weeks ago, Carey has hosted Duke, Kentucky, Miami (where his father played college football) and North Carolina for in-home visits.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
UNC: “They develop their big guys and are talking about how they could use me, kind of like how they used Luke Maye this year and Tyler Hansbrough back in the day. They have just been trying to make those kind of comparisons with me.”
Kentucky: “Coach (Kenny) Payne came down to see me. I think Coach Cal (John Calipari) had surgery or something, but he just said that he is really interested in me. ... But I have also talked to Bam (Adebayo) a little. He just says Kentucky is a really good program and he could see me playing there.”
Duke: “Coach K came down and it was the first time me seeing him in person and talking to him in person, so it was a really good experience. He just talked about life and basketball. He said that I am a special player - and hearing that from him means a lot - and that I could be a go-to guy if I keep working.”
Miami: “They were at our shootaround before this live session. They just come down whenever they can and coach (Jim) Larranaga just says that I could have a legacy there, since my father went there, and I could be the man there.”
Michigan State: “Coach (Tom) Izzo, he tries to get with me every day, along with Coach (Dane) Fife and the rest of the staff. They are just saying that I could be a really good guy there at their program.”
WHAT'S NEXT?
Carey has no intentions of narrowing his school list down any time soon, as he is rather focused on completing his senior travel ball season first.
“I was thinking about cutting my list down again last week, but I will hold off probably until after my travel season,” he said, and the same goes for taking any more visits (he spent his first official visit on Michigan State back in February). “No visits set up for now. I probably won’t do any more visits until ... July."
RIVALS' REACTION
Carey has shown major progressions since this time last year. He has developed his body further, and he showed that by playing harder for longer periods on Friday evening. He has also bettered his second leap around the basket tremendously and he has become much better with his shot selection, rarely settling for the perimeter attempt.
Expect his recruitment to bleed further into the summer months and a final list to be produced some time around August. While things remain open for others to jump into the mix, this one looks to be a wide-open battle between Duke, Kentucky, Miami, UNC and Michigan State.
