Josh Carlton, the 6-foot-10, 235-pound Class of 2017 big man from DeMatha Catholic (Md.) and Team Loaded, committed to UConn on Wednesday after visiting the campus last month.
He also considered Georgetown, Clemson, Xavier and USC.
“I really enjoyed my visit, seeing the campus and how the students interacted with the players,” he said Wednesday. “And I really enjoyed being around the coaching staff, especially Coach Ollie.”
During the visit, Ollie impressed upon Carlton the Huskies’ need for bigs.
“Just that they’re losing a lot of frontcourt guys,” he said after the visit. “Two of their best frontcourt guys are seniors [Amida Brimah and Kentan Facey] so it’s just a place where I can go and develop and become a real good player.”
UConn has also produced its share of NBA big men, which is appealing.
“Oh, yes, definitely, that’s definitely something I will take into consideration, that they send guys to the NBA” Carlton said. ”
He plans to be effective in the paint.
“I feel like I can score pretty well from the post,” he said. “I’m a big body, so of course I have to hit the weight room but my body I don’t think it’s going to be too big of a problem for me at the next level. My face-up game is developing, it’s not where I want it to be, but it’s developing.”
Carlton is UConn’s second Class of 2017 commit, following Brewster (N.H.) Academy point guard Makai Ashton-Langford.
They remain in the mix for several big-time players, including Mohamed Bamba, Hamidou Diallo and Paul Scruggs.
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