By ADAM ZAGORIA
Mark “Rocket” Watts , the 6-foot-2, 180-pound point guard from The Family Detroit and Detroit (MI) Old Redford, has cut his list to eight schools.
Watts is down to UConn, Florida State, Michigan, Michigan State, Louisville, Missouri, Oregon and Xavier, according to Rivals.com.
Coaches from most of those schools watched him this week at the Peach Invitational in Augusta, Ga., and Louisville’s Chris Mack and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo were among those who saw him drop 43 points on Saturday.
Moving forward, he plans to take some official visits “going into my senior year of high school” and isn’t sure if he’ll sign in the fall or spring.
“I’m really just a combo guard, some schools want me to play the one,” he said. “They like my toughness and my quickness.”
Craig Covington, head coach of The Family, said Watts will make an impact wherever he goes.
“People are recruiting him as a point guard, but a guard that can also score the ball,” he said. “Playing with USA Basketball has really upped his point guard status. Playing under [Kansas coach Bill] Self, he taught him a little more. And he’s starting to look for others now and he’s more consistent with his shot because he’s being more proficient, so I think he’s going to be a scoring point guard in a spread-out system.”
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