UCLA, UL, DePaul, ASU Visit Afflalo
Arron Afflalo has been extremely busy during first few days of the month long contact period. The 6-foot-5, 195-pound combo guard from Centennial High School in Oakland, California spent Wednesday and Thursday entertaining head coaches from around the United States.
The April long contact period is not even a week old and high major Division 1 coaches have flooded the Centennial High gym to get a firsthand look at Afflalo.
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“The head coach from UCLA (Ben Howland) and one of his assistants were in the gym today,” Shooting guard Arron Afflalo said. “DePaul head coach Dave Leitao and one of his assistants came to the gym, an assistant coach from Louisville was here and I think coach Rick Pitino will visit on the 23rd.
“Coach Rob Evans from Arizona State was also here and brought one of his assistants,” he added. “Oregon sent an assistant coach and I think Ernie Kent will come next week, so things have been real busy for me this week.”
A majority of these meetings between player and coach occur in the gym, as that gives the head coach and his assistant the opportunity to get a good look at the potential recruit.
“On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I’m in the weight room working out. On Tuesday and Thursday I’m in the gym putting up shots,” Afflalo said. “My dad, my head coach and I spend some time with the visit coaches and hear what they have to say.
“The head coach will talk some about their school and why a player should consider them,” he added.
Afflalo plans to hear from more schools during the contact period, but it’s safe to say that UCLA made the right move when they hired coach Howland away from Pittsburgh. He has made his presence known in a short period of time.
“I spoke with coach Howland the first day he was on the job,” he said. “He really is a nice guy and I think he’ll start winning within a few years. Coach Howland will spend a lot of time recruiting players from the California area and that should help him out.”
Afflalo has scholarship offers from almost every school recruiting him. He will not take any official visit during the early period, but will wait until the beginning of fall.