By MATT WHITFIELD
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Simi Shittu, a versatile 6-foot-10 forward from Canada, was named co-MVP of the NBPA Top 100 Camp on Saturday.
Keldon Johnson was also named co-MVP.
During an interview this week, Shittu talked about his game and his recruitment.
“I affect the game in many ways on both offense and defense,” he said. “I have a high motor. I rebound really well. I score the ball.”
Shittu compared his game to that of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Lebron James, and Draymond Green at this stage. He also mentioned that some of college basketball’s elite programs are watching but hat he’s wide open at this time.
“Notre Dame, Michigan, UCLA, Louisville, UConn, Maryland, those are some of the schools,” said Shittu.
Shittu also mentioned that Duke and Kentucky recently reached out.
“They called my parents a few weeks ago,” he said. “One of the [Duke] assistant coaches said they going to watch me and keep tabs on me all summer. [Duke] they really like my playing style and feel I can fit into the system. And they’re just going to keep tabs on me the whole summer and see where that goes.”
As for Kentucky, “They talked to my coached a couple months ago and they’re also keeping tabs on me this summer.”
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Shittu said he’ll cut his list to about 5 or 10 schools after AAU. But going to school with players he’s friends from Canada with won’t influence him.
“I watch him play because I know [Maryland’s] Justin [Jackson],” he said. “But I don’t really care if I go to a school where they have lots of Canadians. I rather have my own identity.”
Shittu is also not a part of the Canadian U19 team that will play in the FIBA U19 World Championship team next month in Cairo, Egypt. He was at the NBPA Camp and did not participate in the trials.
Player development and going to a school that will take him to the NBA are priorities for Shittu in his recruitment.
