North Carolina head coach Roy Williams and his staff are familar with 6-foot-10 big man Brandon Huffman because they recruited his former teammate Rawle Alkins last year at Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God Academy.
“They came over and they saw [Huffman] a little bit then [when they were recruiting Alkins] and that’s where the relationship started,” Word of God coach Brian Clifton told SNY.tv by phone.
Alkins ultimately chose Arizona, but the Tar Heels jumped into the mix for Huffman — a native of Alaska whose parents are in the military — on Thursday by offering him a scholarship during a visit to campus.
“They met with Coach Williams and he had Brandon and his father in his office,” Clifton said, adding that Huffman’s father is from Columbia, S.C. “They sat down face-to-face and talked about it. They finally had an opportunity to sit down. They requested his transcript a couple of weeks ago. They saw him during the summer and they were in contact after the summer.
“They felt like they had seen enough to where they felt the kid could help them and they put the offer out today, and that’s where we are.”
Brandon Huffman has received an offer from UNC ���������� pic.twitter.com/gOsrzR3wrH
– A.WigginsTeam Loaded (@teamloadedaau) September 1, 2016
Huffman also added a MIssouri offer on Thursday to go with previous offers from Virginia Tech, Providence, Indiana, Oklahoma State, UNLV, Georgia Tech, Seton Hall, Pitt, LSU, UConn and others.
“We’re going to meet either [Friday] or Saturday about exactly what’s going on and where everything stacks up and then we’ll have a list as to where his recruiting will go after that,” Clifton said.
As for Huffman’s upside and potential, Clifton said: “I think he’s got tremendous upside. Brandon’s one of the few 6-10 guys remaining in basketball who fully embraces what a 6-10 player could be and should be. He plays with great energy, great passion. He blocks shots, he rebounds the ball and wants to dunk it. He doesn’t want to prove that he’s Kevin Durant. He doesn’t want to dribble it or shoot it.
“He’s also an exceptionally well raised kid. His parents have done a tremendous job with him. He’s a military kid who’s not going to have any off-the-court issues. He’s going to go to class. I think he’s a no-brainer for this level or any level.”
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