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While playing for Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God Academy, Rawle Alkins is giving equal time to Tar Heel State schools North Carolina and N.C. State, and hopes to set up some official visits soon.
The 6-foot-5 Brooklyn native is also nursing an injured ankle but is slated to return home to New York for several games next month.
“It’s funny down here with college basketball,” he wrote in his latest USA Today blog, ‘Rawle’s Report.’ “The fans here are crazy!
“I have to pick which games I go to between the two North Carolina schools carefully because I don’t want one school feeling like I’m favoring the other. They’re big rivals too!
“So I try and give equal time to both N.C. State and North Carolina.
“I went to the State game first last week then I went to see the North Carolina game.
“Great times at both.”
Alkins is coping with a bum ankle that has affected him on the court and also impacted recruiting somewhat.
“St. John’s was gonna come to the game last week, but I told them I was injured and wasn’t playing,” he wrote. “They said they’d still come just to talk to me after the game even without me playing. That’s crazy, but I was actually at the hospital getting my ankle checked out so I didn’t make the game at all.
“Recruiting is crazy like that; coaches go hard!
Alkins recently cut his list to eight schools: Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Indiana, North Carolina, N.C. State, St. John’s and UNLV.
He has taken unofficials to the two North Carolina schools, St. John’s and Indiana, but hasn’t taken any officials because he just took the SAT.
“The great thing for me is that I’ve really been going hard in the classroom and it’s paying off,” he wrote. “I’ve still got my 3.8 GPA. My main focus is the SAT! I took it last weekend and it was tough, but I’m hoping for the best. I gave it a strong shot!
“I’m hoping to set up some official visits soon.”
Meantime, Alkins and Word of God are slated to play twice in Manhattan over Martin Luther King Day weekend in the Big Apple Invitational, with games slated for Jan. 16 and 18 at Baruch College. New York-area fans can look forward to watching him there.
Alkins, now projected as the No. 19 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com, also hopes to get his Word of God team into the Dick’s Sporting Goods National Tournament, which plays at Christ the King in the spring.
“I would love to end it like that; playing for the national title,” he wrote in his previous blog.
Photo: Kelly Kline/ Under Armour
