By ADAM ZAGORIA
HILLSIDE, N.J. — Noah Farrakhan has kept a relatively low profile in terms of his recruitment since transferring back home to play for The Patrick School in his native New Jersey.
But after taking an unofficial visit to Penn State on Tuesday for the Michigan State game, Farrakhan opened up about the visit and his recruitment situation.
“It was cool, the atmosphere was everything I didn’t expect going into it but it was a real great experience,” he said Thursday before practice.
No. Penn State built a 19-point lead before falling to No. 16 Michigan State, 79-71.
“The crowd was very into it, it was going insane in there,” he said. “Everybody was up, it was a real good atmosphere. Rocket Watts, one of my closest friends, he was killing it [for Michigan State]. Also their point guard [Cassius Winston], he got to his spots and he picked them apart. But overall, the visit was amazing. It was a great game, great everything to watch.”
2020 @tps_hsbb PG Noah Farrakhan talked about his unofficial this week to Penn State. He and the Celtics are the favorites to win the New Jersey TOC later this month. pic.twitter.com/sOiqdahFGr
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 5, 2020
Penn State assistant Kevin Freeman, who starred at nearby Paterson Catholic, is recruiting Farrakhan and also saw him when the Celtics lost to Long Island Lutheran on Feb. 13.
“They just want a scoring guard to come in, play a big role and get everybody involved in the team, run the show,” he said.
Farrakhan is planning an official visit back to Penn State later this month.
“They want me to make the decision fast if I’m going there or not, but it’s process,” he said.
He’s also planning an official visit to Boston College, which has done well with guards under coach Jim Christian.
“No official date yet,” Farrakhan said.
He has also taken an unofficial to Temple where his brother Monty Scott attends. Farrakhan is close with former Roselle Catholic and current Temple guards Josh Pierre-Louis and Nate Pierre-Louis.
“Those are my closest friends from New Jersey,” he said. “They want me to come. They want it to be a family thing with two [sets of] brothers, it would be something to watch. They just want it to be a lit experience over there and bring them something they never experienced before.”
As far as a timetable on deciding, he said, “I feel like late April, early April.”
Noah Farrakhan sky WALKING 🤞 pic.twitter.com/yylbF1ryAn
— Overtime (@overtime) February 27, 2020
First things first.
Farrakhan went for 17 points Saturday night when the Celtics beat Roselle Catholic for the Union County championship. Now they are chasing a Non-Public B state title, and eventually a New Jersey Tournament of Champions crown.
“We’re going to win the state title,” he said. “I believe in these guys, I feel like they believe in me. Coach [Chris Chavannes] runs a pretty straight ship around here, so it’s going to be exciting.”
After playing at IMG (FL) Academy with a squad that included Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Villanova) and Josh Green (Arizona), Farrakhan said he started to feel “a little homesick after we won the national championship” at the GEICO Nationals in 2019.
“I was like, why not bring it back home?” he said.
Now he is running the show for another loaded team.
The Celtics feature Jonathan Kuminga, the No. 1 junior in the nation, top junior forward Adama Sanogo and other weapons, including Zarique Nutter, Bretner Mutumbo and Chris Jiao.
“It’s very special, very magical,” he said. “These guys are very good at what they do. We play very hard when we need to. These are unbelievable pieces. Jon is a No. 1 draft pick in my eyes. Adama is a force down low, he knows how to set people up, knows how to post up. Zarique Nutter also. These are just unbelievable forces.”
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