By SAM LANCE
BRANSON, MO — Class of 2025’s No. 8 overall prospect, Chris Cenac Jr., is planning some more official visits for the month of October, he told ZAGSBLOG. He would like to add Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor and Louisville to his remaining visit list of Kentucky (Sept. 27) and LSU (Nov. 9). No dates have been set yet.
Cenac — the 6-foot-10, 230-pound big man out of Link Academy — has already visited Auburn (Sept. 20) Tennessee (Sept. 13) and Houston (Aug. 30). He broke down those trips to ZAGSBLOG:
Houston: “I like every visit equally. All of them pretty much said the same thing. They are going to have me playing like all-around, have me coming in and playing good minutes. The goal is to be one and done.”
On head coach Kelvin Sampson: “He’s a great coach. The thing that’s similar about those coaches is they’re going to push me. They are going to push me until I want to quit. And I think that’s what I need in a school to be ready for the next level.”
Tennessee: “Same thing. [Rick Barnes] is a great coach, has a lot of experience. All of them, they have coached guys like me, which is great. So coach Barnes, he’s a great coach. He’s going to push me.”
Auburn: “Same with coach Bruce Pearl. He’s going to push me. He coached a guy like me a couple years ago. So he’s a great coach. Everyone [at Auburn] is very friendly, just very welcoming.”
Cenac is looking forward to ‘everything’ on his trip to Kentucky this weekend.
“How they are going to play me, what they have to offer,” Cenac said. “I’m just looking forward to seeing what they do this season and how they do. That’s what’s most important to me right now.”
LSU is still slated to receive the last official visit. Cenac is originally from New Orleans.
“It’s very welcoming,” Cenac said of LSU. “Just like Kentucky, I’m looking forward to seeing what they do this year. They had a top-10 recruiting class last year, so I’m just looking to see how they rebuild and how they’re going to do this season.”
Cenac plans on narrowing down his top 12 schools after he takes his official visits. Cenac’s current list includes Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Houston, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Tennessee, Texas and UConn. But what about a decision timeline?
“I don’t have a specific time,” Cenac said. “I’m just ready to get these visits done and then I’ll have a decision around when I’ll do it.”
The big man will be very busy this fall. Cenac is currently preparing for his senior season at Link Academy, and he has USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team minicamp from Oct. 11-13. Plus, the visits he’s looking to set in stone.
Cenac impressed at the open gym at Link Academy. In shooting drills, he showed off his stroke from 3 and drained 16-of-20 attempts from the top of the key to finish off his workout.
“I’ve been working on it a lot,” Cenac said of his jumper. “So I feel like I’m one of the best shooting bigs in the country right now. And I think me being in the gym working on it shows that.”
Cenac also jumped 12 feet on Thursday, something only one other Link Academy played had done before. Four-star big man John Clark also reached this feat moments after.
Recently, LSU was three deep with head coach Ryan McMahon to see Cenac. Bill Self, Sean Miller, Dennis Gates, Fran McCaffery, John Calipari and Mark Pope have been in as well. Cenac burst onto the scene this summer with his play, including an MVP performance at NBPA Top 100 Camp. He described his summer as ‘perfect’ and said he got to show everyone what he can do. Now, he’ll be after quite the accomplishment at Link. “The main goal we all want is winning a national championship,” Cenac said. “My role on the team is to be a leader really, and just play. Just play my game and be a leader.” Follow Sam Lance on Twitter Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram And Like ZAGS on FacebookChris Cenac Jr. just hit 12 feet on this jump.
— Sam Lance (@slancehoops) September 26, 2024
Heard a @LinkHoops coach say he’s only the second player in school history to reach this height. Cenac and Chicago Bull Julian Phillips. pic.twitter.com/m7VJf60Vgy
