By NICK MEDLINE
Special to ZAGSBLOG
Gabe Levin visited Marquette, Northwestern and Notre Dame in the past two weeks, leading up to his highly anticipated decision.
The Loyola-Marymount transfer told SNY.tv his college choice will come soon, with each of the three schools “tied” before his evaluation.
“They’re equally great,” Levin said. “The saddest thing is that you make all these great relationships and you have to pick one school. The other relationships are gone.”
Levin averaged 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds in his freshman year at LMU, and earned obvious high interest from major college programs.
Chris Collins and Northwestern might have the most to prove, and might have even proven the most. Collins and his entire staff—including assistant Armon Gates—worked to keep the Oak Park (Ill.) forward close to home.
The major task for Collins at Northwestern is to finally lead the Wildcats to their first ever NCAA Tournament berth. Already with seven commits for his first two classes, Collins would take another step toward credibility by getting Levin.
“Northwestern isn’t really known as a basketball school or anything like that. I went into my visit with low expectations,” Levin said. “After meeting everyone and seeing their vision, it was just phenomenal.”
Marquette and first-year coach Steve Wojciechowski also pitched a vision to Levin. Though facilities will not be the deciding factor, their investment in the program could be an added “bonus.” Still, as with Collins, Levin praised Wojciechowski and the entire staff.
“He definitely has a plan,” Levin told SNY.tv on June 4. “He’s been an assistant coach at Duke and he’ll only strive. He won’t have any problems stepping right in.”
As for Notre Dame, Levin focused on the idea of tradition. Mike Brey provides experience and stability at ND. This upcoming season will be his 15th in South Bend.
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