PHILADELPHIA — Growing up in Norwalk, Conn., Steve Enoch couldn’t help but become a fan of UConn basketball.
Now the Huskies are riding high after winning their fourth NCAA championship since 1999 under new coach Kevin Ollie.
“Growing up I’ve always wanted to play at UConn and my family wanted me to,” the 6-foot-10 Enoch told SNY.tv last week at the Reebok Classic Breakout. “And they’ve all been fans of UConn. Now that I have [a scholarship offer] I gotta take it slow because I really have to study their program.”
Enoch has burst onto the national recruiting scene in recent weeks and now holds offers from UConn, Memphis, Arizona State, Kansas State, Fairfield, Sacred Heart, VCU, Oregon, Boston College, Providence, Rhode Island and Drexel.
Florida, North Carolina, Indiana, Iowa and Virginia showed interest this past week in the City of Brotherly Love.
“It’s not overwhelming,” Enoch said. “I’m enjoying it because I’ve ben putting in a lot of hard work and effort into my game and into my skills so I’m just glad.”
Enoch recently visited UConn, Rhode Island, Providence and Boston College in one swing, but the pull of the home state school is pretty strong.
“I visited UConn two weeks ago,” Enoch said. “It was good because a whole bunch of other players came to visit, too, Tyus Battle, Ray Smith, Tremont Waters were there. And my teammate Ian Gardner was there so we had a good time.”
Enoch says he and Ollie are developing a strong relationship.
“We’ve built a really good relationship with each other and all the coaching staff,” he said.
It doesn’t hurt that the Huskies just won the NCAA title, either.
“I watched them win but I was just rooting for them,” he said. “I didn’t have anybody special that I was really rooting for. It was really good that they won and I’m happy for them.”
“With Connecticut, it’s obvious,” George Mathews, Enoch’s coach with High Rise Team Up, told SNY.tv. “Great facilities, really good coaching staff. They’re saying they want him. They’re saying they really want him a lot. He’s a Connecticut kid, they love his versatility, they want us to commit.”
Enoch says he’s in no hurry to commit now, however, and may wait until the spring of his senior season.
“I think towards the end of my senior year, the spring, near May,” he said, before adding this addendum.
Mathews said Enoch will sign in the fall, however.
“I don’t know, anything could happen,” Enoch said. “I just haven’t really thought about it because I’ve been so focused on high school.”
How high is Enoch’s ceiling?
He says he’s nowhere close.
“I think I can get way better,” he said. “I’m just coming off a [thigh] injury and I’m feeling good out there. My wind is up and my motor is running, so just have to keep pushing.”
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
And like ZAGS on Facebook
