Wallace ready for next step

It seems like Eric Wallace has been in high school forever. The 6-foot-7, 195-pound physical specimen from Glenn High School in Kernersville, N.C., emerged in the national spotlight as a freshman and now realizes that the end is drawing near for his high school career.

Wallace averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals a game this year for Glenn (19-9) and traveled the East Coast for a number of national tournaments. The four-star prospect said he was readily prepared for the schedule his team played in this season.

"It has been a big transition from last year to this year," Wallace said. "We played in a lot of national tournaments. I know I was ready for it. So was (teammates) Marshall (Moses) and another one of our players, Chris Jacobs. But going from little 'ole Kernersville to high powered national tournaments in Florida and other places, it can be a little harder to get used to."

The solidly built wing forward knows how to bring a crowd to it's feet with his high-flying act. But Wallace said he tried to expand on his overall skill set this season. It took watching Kobe Bryant on a popular talk show on ESPN.

"I was watching Kobe on Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith and he was saying that when Shaq left he had to learn to be more of a quarterback and orchestrate more for his team, basically become that playmaker," Wallace said. "I felt like I had to do the same thing myself and become a more effective player."

With one more high school season and an upcoming year with D1 Sports on the AAU circuit, the realization that his prep career is drawing nearer.

"I'm sure it will (hit me) later, probably sometime in the summertime," Wallace said. "I know it will give me more motivation. I want to bring my overall game and go out with everything I got and close out real strong. When I'm watching the college teams on TV, it kind of hit me that I am only a year away from me being out there."

Now it is just a matter of figuring out what team he will play for on television. The options are certainly there. Virginia spent a lot of time recruiting Wallace this season.

"If anybody came to a Glenn game this year, they were probably going to see somebody from the University of Virginia. Coach Leitao has been down to a game and coach (Rob) Lanier has been down a couple of other times. They stay in touch with me a lot."

Wallace was on hand for Virginia's last home game at University Hall against Maryland. He has also been to a couple of Wake Forest games this season as well.

Baylor is shaping up to be a player in the race for his services as well. "Coach (Jerome) Tang and I have a good relationship. He's a good guy," Wallace said.

Florida has kept tabs on the four-star wing throughout the year. "They have shown a lot of interest in me since I went to their elite camp last year. They've really jumped in strong," Wallace said.

He said a couple of other ACC and Big East schools like Connecticut and Louisville are showing interest as well.

"I think it would be healthy for me to have a decision before my senior season," Wallace said. "It starts in mid November or late October. I want to be able to be comfortable in that decision but also be able to make the right decision so I can focus on what I need to do next year. I want to make my official visits in the fall and then be able to decide after that."