Jarrett Allen, one of the top uncommitted big men in the Class of 2016, says six schools are working the hardest to land him and he won’t make an announcement until after the Nike Hoop Summit April 9 in Portland, Ore.
In a video interview with Evan Daniels of Scout.com from the McDonald’s All-American Game in Chicago, the 6-foot-10, 225-pound Allen out of Austin (TX) St. Stephen’s Episcopal listed Texas, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Notre Dame and North Carolina. He has visited all of the schools but North Carolina, which plays Syracuse Saturday in the Final Four in Houston.
“I’m definitely going to start thinking about it after the Hoop Summit game,” he told Daniels. “It’s going to be a busy time period from now until Hoop Summit, so after that I’m going to start thinking about it a lot.”
Allen recently met with Texas head coach Shaka Smart at UT.
“We sat down for about an hour or two just talking about how the program would help me and how I would fit into the program,” Allen said. “It was good to sit down.”
He added: “It’s a good school…Coach Smart with Prince Ibeh, he really helped his confidence, so it’s a good school.”
Allen has also taken an official to Kentucky.
“The name speaks for itself,” he said. “They really show every year that they can get the best talent and playing there means a lot.”
Kentucky already has Bam Adebayo, Wenyen Gabriel and Sacha Killeya-Jones coming in, and remains involved for Marques Bolden, who is down to Kentucky, Duke and TCU.
Kansas-bound big man Udoka Azubuike has also been recruiting Allen to Kansas while in Chicago.
“They’re big men, like Perry Ellis in the Tournament, he’s been doing excellent,” Allen said. “Overall, all their big men have progressed and developed.”
Kansas also remains involved for 7-footer Thon Maker, who recently took an official to the school and is also considering Arizona State, Notre Dame, St. John’s and Indiana.
Houston is also close to home.
“Coach [Kelvin] Sampson, he’s a good idea,” he said. “I really like how he plays his freshmen.”
Notre Dame, which lost Sunday to North Carolina in the Elite Eight, is also in the mix.
“They’re losing Zach Auguste so I definitely can fit into his spot,” Allen said.
North Carolina loses Brice Johnson to graduation, and Allen could step into the frontcourt.
“Their big man, they try to compare me to him, say I could take his role,” he said.
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