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.
By ADAM ZAGORIAAdem Bona, the 6-foot-10, 222-pound Class of 2022 center from Prolific Prep (CA), is down to eight options.
Bona is down to Arizona State, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky, the Australian NBL, Miami, UCLA and USC.
2022 elite center Adem Bona is down to eight options, he tells @On3Recruits.
Arizona State, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky, NBL, Miami, UCLA and USC make the cut.
After recently picking up an offer from Kentucky, the 18-year-old Nigerian native opted to postpone his scheduled recent visit but said he may visit for Big Blue Madness. He is ranked the No. 2 center in the Class of 2022 per 247Sports.com.
“Most definitely I’m going to visit more colleges, but the dates are not set yet,” he said.
As for the Kentucky offer said, “One of the biggest goals is getting offered by Coach [John] Calipari. When you get an offer from Kentucky, that’s kind of huge. It was big for me.”
Bona models his game after former Kentucky and current Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo.
“I’m trying to model my game after Bam because he’s one of my favorites because he’s one of the most diverse players in the league,” Bona said. “Also I kind of have the size and body shape of Ben Wallace, I kind of play like him a little bit. Ben Wallace is one of my favorite players.”
He said he’s talked about the Adebayo comparison with the Kentucky coaching staff.
“They said I am growing like Bam coming out of high school and Bam developed a lot going to Kentucky,” he said. “That’s one of the major reasons that I’m considering Kentucky.”
He added of Kentucky: “It’s one of the top colleges on my list.”
He broke down several of his other top schools for ZAGSBLOG.
Kansas: “Kansas has been one of the top colleges for the past years in the NCAA. They’ve put so many bigs in the league like Joel Embiid and Udoka Azubuike. They are bigs just like me. They started basketball late, they played high school, went to Kansas and improved their basketball skills. And I feel like Kansas is going to prepare me well for the pros.”
Baylor: “Baylor, they play the style of basketball I play. They have a great coach [Scott Drew] over there. They play with a lot of energy and I’m the kind of guy, it’s more about the energy and everything. [Winning the championship] shows they’re doing good stuff over there, they’re doing something right over there.”
UCLA: “One, it’s close to home. Two, I spoke with the coaching staff and the head coach [Mick Cronin], I really like the relationship we’re building. I watched them play and they play more from the big, I really like the utilize the big over there. It’s something I want to be a part of. I want to move more and take advantage of my strength, my speed and my athleticism. I feel like their style of play is going to be something great for me.”
Bona has also spoken with Giannis Antetokounmpo on the phone after a team director from Prolific Prep connected them..
“I freaked out,” he said. “He told me to work on my craft and do my thing.”
His goal is to follow those players into the NBA.
“Yeah, that’s my end goal to play in the NBA,” he said.
This post was updated at 1:47 p.m. ET on Aug. 30.Follow Adam Zagoria on TwitterFollow ZAGSBLOGHoops on InstagramAnd Like ZAGS on Facebook
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.
