Because of a pulled right hamstring, Findlay Prep senior forward Anthony Bennett will be a gametime decision for today’s ESPNU tilt against Shabazz Muhammad and Bishop Gorman at UNLV.
“We don’t want to make it worse and make it something that lingers beyond us next fall into college,” Findlay coach Michael Peck told the Las Vegas Sun.
UNLV fans figure to be out in force for the nationally televised game since the Rebels have offers out to both players.
Peck told FiveStarBasketball.com in this recent column that it would be a blockbuster move for the Rebels to land both the 6-7 Bennett and the 6-6 Muhammad.
“Oh my God, amazing,” Peck told Fivestarbasketball.com. “It would be tremendous because they play different positions but both are physically ready for that next level. I mean, you look at both, their size and their physical makeup, and they’re explosive athletes. A lot of guys that go to the next step have to get more time in the weight room and develop their bodies. These guys, their bodies are ready. They’ll continue to get stronger but they’re both ready for that next step.”
Bennett is mulling five schools — UNLV, Washington, Oregon, Florida and Kentucky — but said UNLV has a shot.
“The coaching staff is real cool. They are playing that up-tempo style and getting out running,” Bennett told the Sun. “That is my style and how I want to play.”
Khem Birch, UNLV’s newest addition after transferring from Pitt, is already working on Bennett
“I’ve talked to him a hundred million times about UNLV, but it’s up to him,” Birch told the Sun.
“That would be pretty cool, especially with Khem Birch already there,” Bennett told the paper. “That would be cool to (be in the lineup) with both those guys.”
Meantime, Demetris Morant, the Bishop Gorman forward who has committed to UNLV, believes Muhammad is now actively considering the Rebels.
“I think Shabazz is really considering going [there] because he feels that they’re a great team and everyone else sees that, too,” the UNLV-bound Morant told FiveStarBasketball.com. “And they’re ranked in the nation.
“At first he wasn’t thinking about going there because he thought they wouldn’t be that good and he wouldn’t be looked at by [NBA] scouts. So he was mostly considering Kentucky, but now UNLV is in the top three.”
