By NICK MEDLINE
SPECIAL TO ZAGSBLOG
CHICAGO — Aaron Falzon will set visits to Northwestern, Boston College and Harvard, he told SNY.tv on Friday. Falzon said that Stanford and Creighton are also “still in the mix.”
The 4-star power forward played well at the Nike Global Challenge, holding his own against other elite opponents. Falzon created shots, knocked down threes and used his trademark vocal play during a solid weekend.
Now, the Northfield (MA) Mouth Hermon prospect can focus on making his college decision. For his visit schedule, he started with three schools that recruited him with intensity.
Northwestern and head coach Chris Collins already earned two 2015 commits in Dererk Pardon and Jordan Ash. In search of its first NCAA Tournament appearance — which seems close to happening — NU shifted the focus to Falzon. He’s their only current target for the class.
“It’s crazy. They’ve been to every single game,” Falzon said. “We were playing in a tournament in Philadelphia and there were no coaches in the stands except for [assistant coach Patrick] Baldwin. They really love me, I can tell. They’re sending me videos of their kids, saying: ‘We want Aaron.’”
Falzon grew up familiar with Boston College. And though the program struggled in recent years, new head coach Jim Christian is selling him on the rebuilding process. BC has been competitive in other top recruitments, including that of four-star small forward Terance Mann.
“[I would] have the ability to be at home and lead a program that’s been down the last four years,” Falzon said. “I live five minutes away … When I was younger, they were winning, and I could take them back to the heights so it’s very intriguing.”
He’s also looking at in-state Harvard, a program that boasts the academics and the stability. Under Tommy Amaker, Harvard has reached three consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
“If I go there, we’re going to the tournament every year,” Falzon said. “Coach Amaker has done an amazing job bringing Harvard to where it is. It’s making more kids want to play in the Ivy League.”
At the Global Challenge, with a guard-heavy rotation, Falzon was able to work on more traditional power forward play. He said he focused on “adapting to the environment” and defending the four.
The commitment to getting better explains his rapid ascent. And it explains why three schools, or more, are looking at Falzon as a potential program turning player.
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