Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
John Wall, the top-rated basketball recruit in the nation according to Rivals, says he will wait until the spring to make his college decision.
Wall is coming off a recent visit to North Carolina State for an open practice. He has made only one official visit, to Kansas, and still hopes to visit Memphis, Baylor, Oregon and Miami, but only after taking the SAT on Nov. 1.
“I’m just going to take the SAT,” the 6-foot-4 point guard out of Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God said Thursday by phone. “Then after the SAT I’m going to set up my visits.”
Wall visited N.C. State last weekend for an open practice on the same weekend 6-9 big man Derrick Favors of Atlanta was on campus. Wall and Favors played together during the Boost Mobile Elite 24 event in New York in August.
“It was a good visit,” Wall said. “I can go there just about any time because it’s only five minutes from my house. It was good to hear the fans chanting my name. I had a chance to talk to Derrick. We talked about the season coming up. We talked about what schools he’s considering.”
Favors is considering Georgia, Georgia Tech, Memphis, N.C. State and Florida State, and could visit Memphis this coming weekend.
Wall has long listed Baylor, Kansas, Memphis, N.C. State and Oregon among his favorites, but said Miami recently joined the picture as well.
“They got into the mix a week or two ago,” he said. “They called a week or two ago. They called and said they wanted to recruit me and so I put them back in the box.”
Kansas recently got a commitment from 6-2 point guard Elijah Johnson of Las Vegas, and some have speculated that Wall might drop Kansas as a result. But the school is still recruiting him and Wall says he’s uncertain what he will do.
“I can’t just let one person making a decision effect what decision I’m going to make on my schools,” he said of Johnson. “Just because they commit there doesn’t mean that’s going to stop me from looking at them.”
Baylor is considered a potential favorite because Wall’s former AAU coach, Dwon Clifton, was hired to the Baylor staff.
Does Baylor have an edge with the Clifton hiring?
“It helps them a little bit because he was my AAU coach,” Wall said this summer. “He worked me out most of my last two years of high school ball. He was like an older brother to me, something I don’t have, so it’s kind of a tight relationship. So that helps a little bit.”
Wall has already visited Baylor for an Elite Camp earlier this summer.
“It was before Vegas,” he said. “I couldn’t see much of the campus. I was there for a day and a half, so it was all right. My school’s small, so I could go to a small school and get my work done and get better at my game.”
Wall’s mother was recently hospitalized and is scheduled for surgery near the end of this month. Some observers believe that tends to favor N.C. State, since it is the closest to home.
“She’s doing good,” Wall said of his mother. “She said she doesn’t want me to make my decision just because she’s sick. She wants me to make the best choice for me.”
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
John Wall, the top-rated basketball recruit in the nation according to Rivals, says he will wait until the spring to make his college decision.
Wall is coming off a recent visit to North Carolina State for an open practice. He has made only one official visit, to Kansas, and still hopes to visit Memphis, Baylor, Oregon and Miami, but only after taking the SAT on Nov. 1.
“I’m just going to take the SAT,” the 6-foot-4 point guard out of Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God said Thursday by phone. “Then after the SAT I’m going to set up my visits.”
Wall visited N.C. State last weekend for an open practice on the same weekend 6-9 big man Derrick Favors of Atlanta was on campus. Wall and Favors played together during the Boost Mobile Elite 24 event in New York in August.
“It was a good visit,” Wall said. “I can go there just about any time because it’s only five minutes from my house. It was good to hear the fans chanting my name. I had a chance to talk to Derrick. We talked about the season coming up. We talked about what schools he’s considering.”
Favors is considering Georgia, Georgia Tech, Memphis, N.C. State and Florida State, and could visit Memphis this coming weekend.
Wall has long listed Baylor, Kansas, Memphis, N.C. State and Oregon among his favorites, but said Miami recently joined the picture as well.
“They got into the mix a week or two ago,” he said. “They called a week or two ago. They called and said they wanted to recruit me and so I put them back in the box.”
Kansas recently got a commitment from 6-2 point guard Elijah Johnson of Las Vegas, and some have speculated that Wall might drop Kansas as a result. But the school is still recruiting him and Wall says he’s uncertain what he will do.
“I can’t just let one person making a decision effect what decision I’m going to make on my schools,” he said of Johnson. “Just because they commit there doesn’t mean that’s going to stop me from looking at them.”
Baylor is considered a potential favorite because Wall’s former AAU coach, Dwon Clifton, was hired to the Baylor staff.
Does Baylor have an edge with the Clifton hiring?
“It helps them a little bit because he was my AAU coach,” Wall said this summer. “He worked me out most of my last two years of high school ball. He was like an older brother to me, something I don’t have, so it’s kind of a tight relationship. So that helps a little bit.”
Wall has already visited Baylor for an Elite Camp earlier this summer.
“It was before Vegas,” he said. “I couldn’t see much of the campus. I was there for a day and a half, so it was all right. My school’s small, so I could go to a small school and get my work done and get better at my game.”
Wall’s mother was recently hospitalized and is scheduled for surgery near the end of this month. Some observers believe that tends to favor N.C. State, since it is the closest to home.
“She’s doing good,” Wall said of his mother. “She said she doesn’t want me to make my decision just because she’s sick. She wants me to make the best choice for me.”
