Before he steps foot on a series of national campuses, Noah Vonleh wants to get to know the local folks first.
So the 6-foot-8 2014 power forward out of New Hampton (N.H.) Prep is currently on a tour of New England schools.
He visited Providence Tuesday, comes to UMass today (Wednesday) and heads to Boston College Saturday.
UConn is on tap for sometime next week.
“I think we might be going down there next week,” Vonleh told SNY.tv of UConn, where he visited last year for Midnight Madness. “They always have pretty good teams. They always have players around the NBA every year basically.”
After adding a recent offer from Louisville coach Rick Pitino while he was at the NBA Top 100 Camp, Vonleh now counts offers from the Cardinals, Kansas, North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio State, Auburn, Arizona and UCLA in addition to those mentioned above.
North Carolina, Indiana, Arizona and Ohio State are among the schools that have made an impression on him early, but his AAU coach, Vin Pastore of the Mass Rivals, says it’s still very early.
“As soon as he goes to one of these campuses, he’s going to have to go to a multitude,” Pastore said. “There’s a lot of pressure to get these guys on campus. He’s got the whole school year to figure that stuff out. He’s just working on getting better.”
And for now, he’s getting to know the local coaches a little better.
Vonleh visited Providence along with Kaleb Joseph, Matt Cimino, Jeremy Miller, Josh Sharma, Jalen Adams and Mike Leblanc.
Pastore said Vonleh “loves” Providence and “has a good relationship with Ed Cooley.”
Now comes visits to UMass, BC and UConn.
“Everybody’s looking to say what he likes,” Pastore said. “He would like to get to know the local coaches first and work his way out.”
Vonleh has enjoyed a busy summer already and was invited to the Kevin Durant and LeBron James Skills Academies, but Pastore said he must still decide whether to attend.
As far as Vonleh’s upside, Pastore said the sky’s the limit.
“He’s 6-8 with a 7-5 wingpsan,” Pastore said. “His body is going to continue to mature and as that does he’s going to become better and better and better.
“He’s a high-IQ kid that plays hard. That’s the bottom line.”
