Newly minted McDonald’s All-American Caleb Swanigan attended games at Notre Dame and Louisville last week, but has no more visits planned for the moment.
The 6-foot-8 Swanigan, out of Fort Wayne (IN) Homestead, saw Notre Dame beat Duke last week at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center.
“[Notre Dame] has been involved for a while,” Roosevelt Barnes, Swanigan’s guardian, told SNY.tv. “They’ve been calling, keeping in touch since September.”
Barnes said the atmosphere at the game was special.
“It was an excellent game, excellent atmosphere,” he said. “I remember seeing UCLA and Bill Walton and those guys when I was little, so it’s everything that tradition says that it is.”
They also attended Louisville’s win over North Carolina on Saturday.
“Louisville was great, too,” Barnes said. “It was a real good atmosphere. They have outstanding facilities, but the Yum! Center is different than any other college arena than I’ve been in. It was a great game, the fans were really passionate.
“We saw the campus and the practice facility. They have excellent facilities. The campus is kind of like a city within a city.”
Louisville star Montrezl Harrell went for 22 points and 15 rebounds in the come-from-behind win, and Louisville coach Rick Pitino sees Swanigan as a potential replacement for Harrell, the projected No. 16 pick in the NBA Draft.
“That [Caleb] is a unique talent and he would come in and get to play the four,” Barnes said. “We’ve been watching games and how they use Montrezl Harrell. They’re similar. he’s got a whole different skill set, but that’s primarily what they would use him to do.”
Swanigan had planned to attend the Michigan-Michigan State game Sunday but they couldn’t make it because of a snowstorm.
For the moment, Swanigan has no plans to visit Duke or anywhere else.
“Nothing else is planned for the moment,” Barnes said.
Swanigan averaged 15.2 points and 11.9 rebounds this summer on the Nike EYBL circuit, leading the campaign in rebounding. He also won a gold medal with the USA U17 team at the World Championship in Dubai in August.
