Martin Geben is a 6-foot-9 Lithuanian forward from Hagerstown (Md.) St. Maria Goretti ranked No. 100 in the Rivals150 for 2014.
He visited Notre Dame this past weekend and will trip to Virginia this coming weekend. After that, he could pull the trigger for one of the two.
“He may do that, he may not,” St. Maria Goretti coach Amrit Rayfield told SNY.tv by phone. “A lot depends on the Viriginia visit and how that goes for him, if he feels comfortable with those two.”
Rayfield said Miami, Georgia Tech and Villanova “are still trying to line up visits right now, but I’m not sure where they are in the process.”
He said Geben was getting “worn down” by the recruiting process and may want to finish it up soon.
“If he were to stop here, I couldn’t fault him for that,” Rayfield said.
As for the Notre Dame visit, it went well.
“He got to see quite a few things, it was the opening weekend of football and there was a lot of excitement out there for that,” he said of the Irish’s 28-6 win over Temple.
“He seemed to really like the school,” he added. “It has a high level of academics which he’s looking to trying to get into some things they have to offer. Overall, the basketball, the academics, the atmosphere. He got a chance to play with some of the guys once or twice in the open gym. Overall, it was a very good visit for him.”
Rayfield said Geben’s game has grown in leaps and bounds since arriving in the U.S. three years ago.
“He’s gotten better,” he said. “It’s hard to even imagine when he came over he was 6-7, 195 and all he did was shoot 3’s. As he continued to grow and his confidence increased, it really transformed his game. He can still face up, he’s a face-up, stretch four, but he’s 6-9, 230 now.
“He can go inside. He’s big and strong and physical and rebounds very well. He went from being an honorable mention to Player of the Year in the Baltimore Catholic League.”
Next up is a visit to Virginia, which recently landed a pledge from Atlanta power forward Isaiah Wilkins.
After that, he could make the call.
“He will continue to get bigger and stronger and more athletic,” Rayfield said. “He’s going to be a very good player wherever he goes.”
