By ADAM ZAGORIA
Kahlil Whitney, the 6-foot-6, 200-pound small forward from Roselle (N.J.) Catholic, has two home visits set for this week.
Chris Mullin and the St. John’s staff came in Tuesday, followed by Illinois coach Brad Underwood on Wednesday. Syracuse was initially supposed to come Wednesday, but the plans changed. It’s unclear when Syracuse will see Whitney.
A Chicago native and the son of former Seton Hall standout Kelly Whitney, Kahlil is also being courted by Georgetown, Miami, Louisville and Oregon, among others. Louisville is also expected in soon for a visit.
He will run this summer with the Mac Irvin Fire on the Nike EYBL circuit.
The No. 16-ranked small forward in the Class of 2019 per 247Sports.com broke down several of his top suitors for ZAGSBLOG.
St. John’s: “I pretty much like St. John’s because of the way Coach Mullin let’s his guys run. He pretty much lets those guys run and push the pace. Chris Mullin, he’s a cool guy to be around. I went to see them practice one day, I like the way they practice. They have like a pro-style practice, a lot of skill development and stuff like that.”
Syracuse: “Everybody says it’s a good school for me because of the length I can bring to the zone. I feel the same way. I feel my ability to shoot the ball at a high level, I feel I would fit in perfectly with that system.”
Illinois: “Illinois, that’s my hometown school. I’m always going to show them a lot of love. I have a great relationship with coach Underwood, I talk to those guys almost every day. They got one of my former teammates, Ayo Dosunmo, he tries to recruit me hard, too.”
Whitney and LSU-bound big man Naz Reid helped Roselle Catholic win their third New Jersey Tournament of Champions title since 2013.
“That was great, it was everything you work during the season,” he said. “That was one of our main goals and we got it.”
RC head coach Dave Boff said Whitney’s upside is huge.
“His upside is as high as it wants to be,” Boff said earlier this year. “With his athleticism and his size, he can be as good as he chooses to be. He’s a super hard-worker. He’s in the gym all the time. He comes in early for workouts, he comes in on off days. If he keeps doing those types of things he’ll be able to play anywhere he wants and be able to be successful when he gets there.”
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