By JACOB POLACHECK
ATLANTA – Kamari Lands, the No. 67-ranked prospect in the class of 2022, told ZAGSBLOG Saturday evening that he remains fully committed to Louisville for next season in light of the recent firing of head coach Chris Mack.
Louisville and Mack agreed to part ways on January 26 with Lands calling the timing of the firing “a shocker”.
“I kind of figured it was going to happen, but I didn’t figure the timing of it,” he said. “As of right now, I’m definitely going to Louisville still. I’m not de-committing or nothing. I’m definitely going there right now.”
Lands says a key deciding factor in his commitment was his relationship with the coaching staff and he hopes to build a new connection with the new staff.
“That was a big reason why I chose Louisville – that connection with the coaches,” he said. “I’ll see if they come in and bring that same type of energy to the court.”
The 6-foot-8, 195-pound small forward from Hillcrest Prep (AZ), spent back-to-back nights facing Overtime Elite teams, featuring Ausar Thompson and Amen Thompson. Lands scored nine points in a loss against the Amen-led Team OTE and 11 points in the loss against the Ausar-led Team Elite on Saturday night.
“I’ve known them since way back in the day,” Lands said of the twins. “They are both great talents, both athletic wings that can play one through three. They’re both really good players.”
For the remainder of the season, Lands is looking to develop into more of a scorer, while improving a number of different areas of his game.
“I definitely have to work on my aggressiveness,” Lands said. “Sometimes I feel like I lack that. Also, my finishing ability. I have to work on that. And that comes with athleticism too.”
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