George Mathews says he’s only seen two big men with a higher upside than Steven Enoch.
Those would be Thon Maker and Ben Simmons.
That’s some pretty heady company, but Mathews raves about the upside of the 6-foot-10, 230-pound Enoch, who plays high school ball at Norwalk (CT).
“I think he can be better than everyone out there,” Mathews, Enoch’s coach with High Rise Team Up, told SNY.tv by phone. “I went to Pangos [ All-American Camp] with him. I went to NBA [Top 100] Camp with him, and I told Steve personally, ‘There’s only two kids I see that can be in your category and that was Thon Maker and the kid from Australia [Simmons]. Those are the only two kids I would take over you a year or two from now.'”
Matthews added: “Sixteen months ago he couldn’t run up and down the court. [Now] he handles the ball and shoots the ball better than any of the bigs I’ve seen. He really has a nice shot and he looks like a pro after five minutes of learning the new rules. He can handle it, he can shoot it, he’s got post moves, he’s really picking up quick on everything…Right now he’s put way more weight on. He’s in that growth stage where everything’s starting to kick in.”
Not surprisingly, more than 40 schools have reached out to Enoch, who holds college scholarship offers from UConn, Memphis, Arizona State, Kansas State, Fairfield, Sacred Heart, VCU, Oregon, Boston College, Providence, Rhode Island and Drexel.
“With a lot of those offers, most of them haven’t even seen him firsthand,” Mathews said. “Most of them haven’t.”
Florida also expressed interest.
“They have actually been recruiting him since the wintertime before any of the other big schools were calling,” Mathews said.
Enoch, who is coming off a thigh injury, will be a the Reebok Breakout Classic beginning Wednesday in Philadelphia, where he is sure to be tracked by a slew of coaches.
Enoch recently visited UConn, Rhode Island, Providence and Boston College in one swing.
“With Connecticut, it’s obvious,” Mathews said. “Great facilities, really good coaching staff. They’re saying they want him. They’re saying they really want him a lot. He’s a Connecticut kid, they love his versatility, they want us to commit.”
Enoch also visited Rhode Island and head coach Dan Hurley.
“I was really impressed with Hurley,” Mathews said. “He’s really sharp. Liked him a lot. He broke down some film, just everything, from the way he talks to his players and just what he picks up in workouts. And when we broke down film, just everything he picked up on and broke down for Steve and myself. You can tell his bloodline is top-notch basketball coaching. He really knows what the heck he’s doing, he’s a great personality.”
Providence also impressed Enoch.
“[Head coach Ed] Cooley, he has a great personality,” Mathews said. “You can tell he’s the type of coach players are attracted to. HE seems like he really cares, that’s the overall vibe I got. He’s got a different personality, really down to Earth. That’s what stands out. They’re really up-and-coming, they’re building a new facility. It’s going to be great.”
Mathews also listed Boston College, VCU and Oregon as schools that are working hard. Enoch was slated to take a recent visit to Seton Hall but it didn’t work out, Mathews said.
“The schools recruiting him and coaches calling him are around 40-plus,” Mathews said.
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
