Dominic Cheek plans on holding off until early next month before announcing his preliminary college list, coaches for the Playaz Basketball Club said.
The 6-foot-5 Cheek, the No. 4 shooting guard in the Class of 2009 according to Rivals, recently told reporters in Connecticut that UConn, Villanova, Tennessee, Wake Forest and Kansas will make the list and that he’s planning an official visit to UConn.
Memphis is also very interested in Cheek, a first-team All-New Jersey selection last season when the Friars went 32-0 and won the mythical national championship and the New Jersey Tournament of Champions.
Rutgers and Seton are also in the mix, St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley said.
“Nothing’s etched in stone. I think the locals, Rutgers and Seton Hall, could hang in there to some extent,” said Hurley.
“He would like to make visits in the fall. The good thing with New Jersey starting time so late, we don’t have to rush into anything. He has a test score. He’s able to make his visits. We can get the process started. There’s no real rush.”
Cheek will be in New York this week for the Boost Mobile Elite 24 event Friday night at Rucker Park in Harlem. The game will also feature feature New York’s Lance Stephenson and Durand Scott and New Jersey’s Dexter Strickland, Tristan Thompson and Mike Gilchrist.
The game will air live on ESPNU at 8 p.m. and will re-air on ESPN2 on Aug. 25 at midnight.
Cheek played for the USA U18 team that lost last month to host Argentina in the finals of the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Formosa, Argentina.
“It was a big disappointment,” Cheek told the Jersey Journal. “We expected to go out there and go undefeated and win the gold medal, but we came up short, losing to Argentina.
“They had a lot of fan support. It was like an NBA-type arena,” Cheek said. “They had a couple of players that play professionally. They all play like (San Antonio Spurs’ star) Manu Ginobili. They don’t miss jump shots and if they get an open three-pointer they’re going to make it.”
