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After taking an unofficial to Arizona late last month, Rawle Alkins will begin an official visit to the Pac-12 school this weekend.
The Wildcats host UCLA on Friday.
It will be the third official visit for the 6-foot-4 Brooklyn guard following trips to St. John’s and to UNLV. The UNLV trip beganTuesday (today).
After recently speaking with head coach Sean Miller and assistant Book Richardson, Alkins added Arizona onto his list — which now stands at nine schools. Arizona sees Alkins as being similar in body type to Stanley Johnson, a former lottery pick out of Arizona, and are pitching that comparison to Alkins.
Alkins told me on his recent trip to the Big Apple that Kobi Simmons texted him the day Simmons committed to Arizona and wanted to bring Alkins along.
“So before he committed, he texted me, he was like, ‘Are you ready?’ So I mean he’s pretty cool. I played a lot with him over the summer, USA Basketball, adidas Nations, all of that stuff.”
Alkins added: “I won MVP of those tournaments so it’s not like he’s going to steal my shine.”
Arizona is two under the scholarship limit and will lose Gabe York to graduation and possibly freshman Allonzo Trier to the NBA Draft.
“I think [Simmons] is going to probably be the primary ball-handler, though, if I end up going there,” Alkins added. “They’re talking about getting Josh Jackson, too, so if they get [Simmons], Josh Jackson, me and imagine if Allonzo Trier stays another year, so who knows?”
The 6-foot-8 Jackson is considering Arizona, Michigan State and Kansas, among others. He is projected as the No. 3 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and is ranked as the No. 1 player in 2016 by 247Sports.com.
“Imagine that lineup,” Alkins added of a recruiting class that included himself, Simmons and Jackson.
Alkins is currently working with a list of nine schools: North Carolina, N.C. State, Arizona, Louisville, Kentucky, Kansas, UNLV, St John’s and Indiana.
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