NEW YORK — The Kyle Anderson tour will resume this week when the St. Anthony point guard takes unofficial visits to Georgetown (Tuesday) and St. John’s (Wednesday).
After that, his next, and last, visit will be an official one to Florida the weekend of Sept. 16-17. He will also host several in-home visits as well before announcing Sept. 20.
“From the neck on up, he’s the best high school player in America, irrespective of class, right now,” New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski said Monday during an interview at the U.S. Open.
“He elevates your basketball IQ. He has a basketball IQ on steroids.”
Konchalski was asked to break down how Anderson might fit in at Georgetown and St. John’s.
“The way they [Georgetown] play, I think he would fit in well offensively,” he said. “They don’t pressure as much as John Thompson Jr. used to pressure. The more you extend the court, the more it might help him defensively because he anticipates well. He plays better defense in passing lanes off the ball than he does guarding the ball.
“The more you rely just on man-to-man defense, I think it’s going to be a hard matchup for him.”
Some have argued that Georgetown already slows it down offensively, and that adding Anderson could slow things down even more.
“People complained about when Chris Mullin went to St. John’s that his tempo fit their tempo, and this might be another similar case,” Konchalski said. “But I don’t think it was a disservice to Chris Mullin.
“[Anderson] is so smart. He scales the game down to his tempo. And he’s going to be a terrific player no matter where he goes.”
As for St. John’s, Anderson would enter in 2012 when most of Steve Lavin’s heralded 2011 recruiting class will have a year under their belts and will be sophomores.
“He’d make them better,” Konchalski said. “He makes people better. He’s a recruiting magnet. Kids like to play with him because he gives the ball up. He really sees the floor. He is a gifted passer in much the same sense that Chris Mullin was a gifted passer. Chris Mullin made some touch passes where he never even really caught the ball. He would sort of direct the angle of his hands.
“Kyle Anderson will get an offensive rebound and tip it to a guy who’s free for a layup. He just is so smart.”
Defensively, Anderson may have to guard the three or four position in the Big East.
“Probably his best defensive matchup is against a three, but he just makes people better. And he’ll manage to find a way. The great players soar with their strengths and they find a way to manage their weaknesses.”
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