By SAM LANCE
KANSAS CITY — Class of 2023 four-star combo guard Marvel Allen updated his recruitment with ZAGSBLOG at the Nike EYBL Kansas City session. Since decommitting from LSU on March 19, Allen has re-opened his recruitment.
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard from Montverde Academy (FL) and The Skill Factory AAU program said he’s open to all schools at the moment. However, he’s been in contact with Michigan, Georgetown, Texas A&M, LSU, Arizona State and Louisville the most. Allen broke down each of those schools:
Michigan: “Coach Juwan [Howard] is a great dude and has been around the game. He played at the highest level himself, so he knows what it takes to get to my main goal. Also the franchise, the history behind it with the fab five and him being a player in that.”
Georgetown: “Same thing. The coach has been in the league and knows what it takes to get there, knows connections, knows the people, knows what position to put you in. He played at school himself too. Also, coach [Kevin] Nickelberry that was at LSU, he’s at Georgetown.”
Texas A&M: “I know a little bit about coach Buzz Williams, coach Vince [Walden]. We’ve been in contact. We communicate. He spiritual guides, talks about a lot of off the court things that I like. It’s just not basketball, but a lot of off the court things so I appreciate that. And then SEC is guard play heavy so I like that.”
Incoming @MVABasketball guard Marvel Allen @1wayvel coming off Iverson screens to score from all three levels for @tsfmack2023 @TheSkillFactory pic.twitter.com/EfaHwjpMFI
— Coach Kevin Boyle Jr (@Kevin_Boyle_Jr) July 3, 2022
LSU: “I’ve been talking to coach Cody [Toppert] the most. He recruited me at Memphis. We had a relationship from there and we’ve kept that relationship now that he’s at LSU. I talked to coach Matt McMahon a little bit. You know I love the atmosphere of LSU because I committed there. I feel confident in the coaching staff to continue building a relationship with me.”
Arizona State: “Coach [Bobby] Hurley, he recruited me. Coach Joel Justus recruited me but now he’s at NC State. We’ve just been building a relationship ever since they first offered me.”
Louisville: “Coach Danny Manning, he recruited me at Maryland. Now that he’s at Louisville he’s been talking to me. We’ve been communicating but I don’t have an official offer.”
Allen said the next step in his recruitment is narrowing down his list to five schools and then committing from there. However, he hasn’t set any exact timetables. The guard took an official visit to Georgetown in April and he’s also visited LSU and Georgia prior to his commitment to LSU in January.
Allen would like to go to a school where he will start as a freshman and prioritize him.
“I want to feel that I can basically trust them with my life and know they’ll build me into a young man that can lead me to my eventual goal, the NBA,” Allen said. “Also staying in contact with my parents. That’s a big thing I’m key on is relationships. So staying in contact with my parents, staying in contact with me and checking in on us. I want to feel safe.”
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