NBPA Top 100: Top 50 E.J. Liddell talks recruiting

Rankings: 2019 Rivals150 | 2020 Rivals100 | 2018 team rankings

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- One of the most productive players in the class of 2019, E.J. Liddell impressed in Nike's EYBL during the spring and he has been up to the challenge of the NBPA Top 100 Camp.

A pure 6-foot-6 scorer with toughness and a jumper, Liddell's ability to create offensive mismatches is what has programs like Kansas State, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio State, Northwestern and Florida among others chasing him.

This weekend, though, is all about maximizing his experience at camp.

"These guys are top 100 in the country and it's just great coming out here and competing with everybody," said Liddell. "I'm learning new things about a lot of stuff off the court with guys having presentations and new speakers coming up and talking about life after basketball and having secondary plans."

More: NBPA Bossi's Thursday observations | NBPA Bluebloods enter mix with Drew Timme

After visiting Ohio State unofficially last week, Liddell can compare the Buckeyes with several other programs and he also discussed Illinois, Kansas State and Ohio State.

Illinois: "I've known Jamall Walker probably the longest out of the all of the coaches and they really love my versatility and it's a positionless offense where they run everything. I'm still getting to know coach (Brad) Underwood."

Kansas State: "It was a fun visit. Bruce Weber he has been calling me all the time and Chris Lowery he texts me every second of the day. He texted me after all the games here yesterday because they knew people watching and they just tell me how good I've been playing and they see me in their offense as a productive player."

Missouri: "Coach Cuonzo (Martin) looks at me as a top priority. He's known my dad for a long time and I feel like I've built a relationship with him. His defense, he loves playing defense."

Ohio State: "This past week I went to Ohio State. It was cool. They showed me around and they were trying to save some stuff for my official visit if I do go there. They showed me the facilities and I talked to Clark Kellogg and met Evan Turner."

During the winter, the general thought regarding Liddell was that his recruitment would boil down to Illinois and Missouri. Kansas State should be considered in that mix and Ohio State is really making headway after Liddell's visit. The takeaway here is that a recruitment that looked six months ago like it would be an either or situation with the Illini and Tigers is going to be bit more contested than that.

Liddell says that he'll get through the summer and cut down his list and start setting visits sometime after Nike's Peach Jam during July. Most likely, he'll a fall decision.