Sturdivant enjoying huge Nike EYBL season; discusses leaders
On Nike Team Florida, Kyle Sturdivant plays alongside the No. 1 player in the 2019 class in Vernon Carey and the No. 2 player in the 2020 class in Scottie Barnes. Through eight games in the Nike EYBL though, it’s Sturdivant who is the leading scorer for the team, averaging 18 points along with 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
Sturdivant, who helped lead Norcross (Ga.) to the 7-A state championship game in Georgia, is becoming a more popular target by the day with schools all over the country. He mentioned Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Stanford and USC as schools he’s talking to regularly now. Wake Forest and UConn are the newest schools to join the mix.
Sturdivant says he plans to visit Georgia Tech this week if time permits. He’ll make his way down to Florida on Monday and he also hopes to visits USC, Stanford and California sometime during June. Georgia will also likely have him on campus soon as well.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Clemson: “They played really well this year. I like the way they play. Coach (Brad) Brownell is cool, real cool actually. I like what he knows about the game.”
Georgia: “They are good people. They have done a great job trying to establish a relationship with me. I’m going to have two teammates there now [Rayshaun Hammonds and Jojo Toppin]. They both like him. I know Tom Crean always finds hidden gems and in Victor Oladipo’s case and makes them into top five picks.”
Georgia Tech: “I like Georgia Tech. Coach (Josh) Pastner talks to me about coming in and being the hometown guy and leading the program.”
Stanford: “I like their program. They were towards the top of the Pac-12 early in the season. I like the pace they play with. It’s more than basketball there.”
USC: “I love USC. I like the pace and style they play with. I’m definitely interested in them.”
RIVALS REACTION
Sturdivant plans to keep his recruitment open throughout the remainder of the travel season to see which schools begin recruiting him and to give him time to develop relationships with schools that either just came into the picture or have new coaching staffs.
He’s aiming to have his decision out of the way before his senior season at Norcross. Clemson, Ohio State and USC have probably done the best job with him so far, but there is a long ways to go in his recruitment. Georgia and Georgia Tech would be two other schools that could gain some traction over the next few months.