Top five junior Scottie Barnes discusses interest
RANKINGS: 2019 Rivals150 | 2019 Team rankings | 2019 Position rankings
TAMPA -- One of the most versatile players in America, top five junior Scottie Barnes has attracted a slew of big time programs who are interested in his services.
However, the 6-foot-8 combo forward remains focused on his team at Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) University School and finishing out a season that featured a pretty ambitious schedule.
"I think that we've been getting better throughout the season," Barnes told Rivals.com. "It hasn't always gone as we wanted but we are still trying to work as a team and develop our young players.
"I feel like I'm playing alright. I feel like I need to keep working on some things and developing my shot and trying to finish at the rim easier."
IN HIS OWN WORDS
So far, Barnes has taken official visits to Florida State and Oregon and he's also seen Florida and Miami unofficially. Kentucky has also been mentioned quite a bit in his recruitment and he discussed all of those programs.
Florida: "I see that they are getting upcoming talent into their program and I've been up there one time with my coach. They talk about how they would develop me as a player like most other programs talk."
Florida State: "I've been up there one time and when I took my visit there it was better than I thought it was going to be. The coaches there are really cool, they opened up to me and I felt like they kept it really real to me. I see that their players are engaged at practice and they really want to win."
Kentucky: "We talk once in a while and they came to school and told me how they really like my game and how i would fit into their program. They talk about how I play positionless basketball and how they like my energy and that they work hard. I've talked to Coach (John) Cal(ipari) and their assistants."
Miami: "I didn't go over there when there was like anything going on. It was a quiet time so I went there to walk around and see the school. They come to our school a lot and talk to me and they have some very cool coaches."
Oregon: "They have a really good coach and they get pretty good players. They talk to me about how they develop their players from their freshman to senior year. I know that they can develop me as a player."
RIVALS' REACTION, WHAT'S NEXT?
In addition to the five programs mentioned above, others like Kansas, LSU, Syracuse and many more would gladly take Barnes. Some see him as a playmaking four, some see him as a big ball handling wing and others see him as a potential defensive terror with budding skill on the offensive end.
Though he's gotten some visits under his belt, Barnes is in no hurry to make any kind of choice. Next up for him will be to chop his list and he's got a number in mind. The programs he spoke about are probably all safe to make his first cut which should leave a few spots up for grabs.
"I'm just going to do like a top seven for now and then relax for a bit (from recruiting)," said Barnes. "I will probably make a decision next year but I don't really know because I haven't really thought about it."