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.
Antonio Blakeney will announce his college choice Friday on ESPNU at halftime of the DeMatha (MD)-Sierra Canyon (CA) game which begins at 4:30 EST.
“I have done my research, taken my visits, and I am ready to get it over with,” he told ESPN’s Reggie Rankin.
The 6-foot-5 onetime Louisville pledge out of Oak Ridge (FL) will choose from among LSU, Kentucky and Missouri, with sources telling SNY.tv that LSU is the favorite.
LSU commit Ben Simmons, the projected No. 2 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, has been vocal in his recruitment of both Blakeney and IMG Academy guard JaQuan Lyle.
“They already have Ben, who I’ve played with,” Blakeney recently told Evan Daniels of Scout. “Me and him could really do damage, that’s what I like about that.”
Blakeney and Lyle both visited LSU with the 6-10 Simmons in November.
“They’re great players, they’d be a good fit,” Simmons said then on ESPNU. “But they’re going to have their own decisions and personal preferences for schools, but I think it would be a good look for LSU.”
LSU could also offer Blakeney, a prolific scorer, more playing time than he might see at Kentucky, which will feature his friend Isaiah Briscoe in a backcourt along with Tyler Ulis, Devin Booker, Dominique Hawkins and Charles Matthews.
“It doesn’t really matter to me,” Blakeney told Scout. “If anything I worry about the guys that are coming back, not the guys that are coming in with me.”
As for Missouri, Blakeney visited there and enjoyed it.
“What I like about Missouri is the atmosphere and the family atmosphere and stuff like that,” he told Scout. “They need somebody to come change their program around. That’ll be somewhere I can go and really play and play through my mistakes.”
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.
Antonio Blakeney will announce his college choice Friday on ESPNU at halftime of the DeMatha (MD)-Sierra Canyon (CA) game which begins at 4:30 EST.
“I have done my research, taken my visits, and I am ready to get it over with,” he told ESPN’s Reggie Rankin.
The 6-foot-5 onetime Louisville pledge out of Oak Ridge (FL) will choose from among LSU, Kentucky and Missouri, with sources telling SNY.tv that LSU is the favorite.
LSU commit Ben Simmons, the projected No. 2 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, has been vocal in his recruitment of both Blakeney and IMG Academy guard JaQuan Lyle.
“They already have Ben, who I’ve played with,” Blakeney recently told Evan Daniels of Scout. “Me and him could really do damage, that’s what I like about that.”
Blakeney and Lyle both visited LSU with the 6-10 Simmons in November.
“They’re great players, they’d be a good fit,” Simmons said then on ESPNU. “But they’re going to have their own decisions and personal preferences for schools, but I think it would be a good look for LSU.”
LSU could also offer Blakeney, a prolific scorer, more playing time than he might see at Kentucky, which will feature his friend Isaiah Briscoe in a backcourt along with Tyler Ulis, Devin Booker, Dominique Hawkins and Charles Matthews.
“It doesn’t really matter to me,” Blakeney told Scout. “If anything I worry about the guys that are coming back, not the guys that are coming in with me.”
As for Missouri, Blakeney visited there and enjoyed it.
“What I like about Missouri is the atmosphere and the family atmosphere and stuff like that,” he told Scout. “They need somebody to come change their program around. That’ll be somewhere I can go and really play and play through my mistakes.”
