Anthony Bennett has cut Florida from his list and is now down to three schools.
As first reported by Scout.com, the 6-foot-7 Findlay Prep forward is now down to UNLV, Oregon and Kentucky, all of which he has visited unofficially.
Bennett was on the UNLV campus with his mother on Thursday and enjoyed the visit.
“He loved the staff,” Findlay assistant Todd Simon told SNY.tv. “He connected well with them. His friend Khem Birch is on the team.”
Bennett also visited Oregon unofficially during the recent Nike Hoop Summit and also visited Kentucky last November.
As for Florida, they had long been considered a frontrunner, but Mike George of CIA Bounce said that Bradley Beal’s decision to enter the NBA Draft played a big role in Bennett’s decision.
“The bottom line is when Bradley Beal committed and decided he was going off to the draft, he and AB were pretty tight,” George told SNY.tv. “The main reason he was considering going there was to play with Bradley. They were pretty close. Bradley took the lead on recruiting him.
“The second thing obviously for AB is he just wants to be in a position where he wants to enjoy his experience and he wants to be one of the main focal points of what’s going on. Florida has Erik Murphy coming back. He’s a senior and probably is going to dominate the minutes. They also have Patric Young coming back
“He loves Coach [Billy] Donovan and loves the staff. They’re good people.”
Florida may now opt to offer 6-11 B.J. Hayes, who is currently on a visit to Georgetown, as first reported by SNY.tv., but does not hold a Florida offer.
As for Bennett, George said a decision could come within a week or so.
“I think in the next week he could make a decision and say, ‘This is what I really want to do and just move on,'” George said.
