By JACK LeGWIN
WHEELING, W.V.- Jayson Tatum put on a show at the Cancer Research Classic in an 88-81 win over Stevenson, scoring 39 points and adding 14 rebounds in front of Kentucky Head Coach John Calipari. After the game, he revealed that he may take his first official visit sometime in February.
“I’m trying to take a trip to the Duke and Syracuse game,” Tatum said, referring to the Feb. 28 game at Cameron. “That would be my first official visit. I don’t have a favorite just yet. The opportunity presented itself, so I felt like I should take that visit.”
Tatum’s currently considering ten schools: Arizona, Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Wake Forest, St. Louis, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Connecticut.
“They all keep in contact,” Tatum said. “Some schools I text every day, every other day.”
Tatum spoke shortly about each of the schools individually after the win.
Arizona: “I talk to coach Sean Miller every once in a while. I get to see them play in all of the national games though.”
UConn: “I haven’t talked to Coach [Kevin] Ollie in a week or two. He calls my mom though and they keep in touch pretty often.”
Duke: “They’re one of the top 3 schools that I keep in contact with Coach [Jeff] Capel, Coach K, Coach [Jon] Scheyer, we talk weekly.”
Illinois: “I just went to the Bragging Rights game, and I saw [Rayvonte] Rice hit that shot. I have a great relationship with Coach [Jamall] Walker. They were one of the first schools to offer me in eighth grade or early ninth grade.”
Kansas: “I went to Kansas Late Night at the Phog this year, they’ve been to a couple games this year.”
Kentucky: “I mean, (Calipari) was here tonight, he likes to keep in touch often.”
Missouri: “I went to a Mizzou game, I took a visit there after I went to Late Night at the Phog, and went to a football game. That’s the second most place I’ve visited, I mean it’s not too far from my house, so I know a lot about that school.”
North Carolina: “Roy Williams came to see me play a game earlier in the year with an assistant coach, that is one school I’m looking to visit as well.”
St. Louis: “I go there every other week. It’s downtown, about eight minutes away from my house. Whenever I go to SLU, I get a lot of love because I’m from there. A lot of fans know me.”
Wake Forest: “Wake Forest, I mean, Coach (Danny] Manning, I talk to them a lot, he texts me Happy Holidays and stuff.”
PHOTO- J Hardy LeGwin
