The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

DESPITE recent reports concerning a lack of recruitment by many elite programmes, Bahamian basketball prep star DeAndre Ayton appears unwavered by those claims and is focused on his path moving forward.

The 7-foot, 17-year-old forward is currently playing on the competitive Nike EYBL Summer Circuit with California Supreme and has averaged 19.8 points and 11.6 rebounds per game this season.

For Ayton, he said his offseason has been about improvement to his game in preparation for the summer circuit and possibly international play.

“I’ve been working out a lot lately,” Ayton told scout.com. “Working out a lot with some experienced players from overseas and working on my game and my conditioning and getting my core stronger.”

Ayton would be a likely candidate to participate on his first national team this summer when the senior men contest the Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championships in Panama.

Currently with Hillcrest Academy in Phoenix, Arizona, he is widely regarded as the top player in high school basketball, irrespective of class, and tops the ESPN 60 list for the class of 2017.

He moved to Hillcrest following a year at Balboa City in San Diego, California, but said there would be no other move headed into his senior season. “I’m staying at Hillcrest,” he said definitively.

In April rumours began circulating that Ayton would elect to go overseas after graduating, opposed to going to college, and there were also a few concerns about his academic status.

He adamantly refuted both claims. “They think I’m not going to college, but I have to go to college. My mom wants me to go to college, and that’s what I’m looking for. (There are) no eligibility concerns, I’m NCAA eligible, so I don’t know what the problem is,” he said.

Despite being ranked as the No.1 prospect in the recruiting class of 2017, Ayton said some schools showed a lack of interest and he was confused as to the source of the concerns.

Since then he has said the recruitment process has returned to the level it was before the rumours arose.

“I’ve gotten calls from Kentucky, Arizona and Kansas, so that’s good,” he told Scout. “They’ve had some nice, mediocre chats with my mom and I. Right now I think schools are coming at me now. Kansas is still there. Kansas has always been there. They’ve been recruiting me since I was in the 9th grade. Other schools are starting to catch my eye. Arizona and Kentucky are the ones that have called too so far. I think Oklahoma State called me too. They called one time.”

With the constant recruitment questions, Ayton says he takes solace with his improvement on the court and that the collegiate choice would be made in due time.

“I don’t really have visits on my mind right now,” Ayton said. “I just really want to get this EYBL stuff over with and try and go as far as possible. After EYBL that’s when I think I’ll start visiting schools a lot more.”

Following his game at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) in Brooklyn, New York, he said: “It doesn’t matter to me. Whoever comes, comes. Look into it and figure something out. I really don’t care who isn’t recruiting me to be honest. I’m just going to stay on top of my game and try to get better.”