BY: CHIP MILLER
Caleb Swanigan, the 6-foot-8 2015 center from Fort Wayne (IN) Homestead High, is set to announce his decision at the Nike Hoop Summit on April 11.
“I will announce which college I will be going to at the Nike Hoop Summit next week,” Swanigan tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
The five-star Swanigan recently cut his list to seven schools consisting of some of the biggest names in college basketball and one that may surprise some. His final seven are Kentucky, Purdue, Arizona, California, Michigan State, Duke and Chicago State.
The 247Sports CrystalBall currently has Michigan State as the clear leader with 61 percent of the overall votes, but that may change as we move closer to Swanigan’s announcement. The big recently visited California with Ivan Rabb and the two have talked with Jaylen Brown about possibly teaming up with new head coach Cuonzo Martin in Berkeley.
When asked, Brown said the thought the idea of himself, Rabb and Swanigan all going there together could be “scary.”
Swanigan recently took some time to break down his final seven schools.
– Duke. “(Freshman center Jahlil Okafor) will be gone, and they are looking for someone who can come in and help fill that void, and that’s a huge honor. Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) is also one of the greatest (coaches) ever.”
– Cal.“I love Cal. I love (coach Cuonzo Martin) since he’s been at Tennessee. He recruited me really early. I think they have a good program that’s on the brink of success.”
– Chicago State. “I have known the coach (Tracy Dildy) for a while, and he’s known my dad for a while. It’s a really nice place they got done there in the middle of Chicago.”
– Purdue. “Purdue is tough. They got some 7-footers and they are really hungry to get better in the Big Ten.”
– Kentucky. “You don’t know who is going to leave and when they are going to leave, but Kentucky is obviously the best organization in college basketball right now, so that’s something you definitely have to look at.”
– Arizona. “Arizona is kind of the Kentucky of the West. They get after it, and they got a lot of guys leaving this year and they need help next year.”
– Michigan State. “(Tom Izzo) is a good coach. He is a Hall of Fame-type coach, and they have a good program there right now.”
As dominoes in the 2015 class continue to fall, Swanigan’s announcement will be one more piece of an eventual puzzle of where the few remaining top players will land and how their skills will impact the landscape of the 2015-16 NCAA Men’s Basketball season.
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