Three-star Cofer down to four
Last summer, Fayetteville (Ga.) Whitewater power forward Phil Cofer made an early verbal commitment to play for Cuonzo Martin at Tennessee. The decision didn't come as a big surprise as both of his parents were athletes at Tennessee.
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When Martin decided to bolt for California last month, Cofer started to have second thoughts and ultimately decided to ask for a release from his letter of intent.
"The coaching change is what made me want to open things up," Cofer said. "It's nothing against Coach [Donnie] Tyndall at all. I just wanted to see what other options I would have."
Cofer received his release from Tennessee, which led to interest coming in from schools all over the country in need of another post player in the 2014 class. On Sunday night, Cofer trimmed his list down to four schools that he plans to visit before deciding. In addition to the Vols, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech made the cut.
"I like how I would fit into all four of those programs. I talked to them about how they would develop on and off the court. It was really just about the relationship I have with the coaches at those schools."
The three-star prospect says he plans to take his first official visit to Florida State next weekend and will set up the other visits very soon.
"I'm going to visit all four schools. After that, I'll talk to my family and make a decision. I'm going to go where I feel most comfortable and where I have the best relationship with the coaches. It's going to be a hard, hard decision, but it's basically going to be where I feel most comfortable."
Even though he made an early commitment to Tennessee, Cofer never took an official visit to the school and says he might not visit there again before deciding because he's so familiar with the campus already.
Along with the schools that made the cut for Cofer, SEC schools such as Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi State showed interest. However, if he were to sign with another SEC school, he would be forced to sit out next season and would lose a year of eligibility.
As a senior at Whitewater, the No. 120 prospect in the Rivals150 averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds per game.
Dan McDonald is a contributing national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.
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