Noel Visits UConn, Syracuse Next

Nerlens Noel, the premier shot-blocker in the nation, took an unofficial visit to UConn Wednesday and will hit Syracuse Saturday.

“It was good,” he said by text. “I enjoyed talking to the staff.”

Noel, a 6-foot-10 rising junior at The Tilton (N.H.) School, said head coach Jim Calhoun compared him to Bill Russell.

That seems to be a popular comparison for Noel, the Five-Star Basketball Defensive Player of the Year.

“No one has ever been compared to Bill Russell, but I said that about this kid [Noel] when he was in the eighth grade,” BABC coach Leo Papile told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “He has a basketball brain like no other player that I have ever coached. He’s a special kid.”

Written by Adam Zagoria

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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.