Ryan Boatright, the eleventh best point guard prospect in the 2011 class according to recruiting service rivals.com, could soon be paying a visit to Las Vegas.
Just a few short days after to committing to play for Bob Huggins and West Virginia, Boatright has chosen to back out of his commitment after the Mountaineers received a verbal pledge from former UNLV recruit Jabarie Hinds.
On Tuesday, one day after Boatright committed to West Virginia, Hinds surprised many by also agreeing to play for the Mountaineers. The decision seemed a decidedly odd one given that Hinds and Boatright play the same position, and possess remarkably similar body types. Rivals.com reported on Friday night that West Virginia's decision to accept Hinds' commitment was, in fact, the reason for Boatright choosing to open up his recruitment.
Rivals also reports that Boatright is now considering UNLV, Connecticut, and Oklahoma, and that either the Rebels or UConn will be the first to receive a visit from the 5'-10" senior out of Aurora, Illinois. Boatright, who averaged better than 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game a season ago for Aurora East High School, could visit UNLV as early as this weekend or next according to Rivals.
After Hinds selected West Virginia, the Rebels search for their point guard of the future had seemingly shifted to Spencer Dinwiddie of Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California. UNLV could now, however, pull off arguably the biggest coup of the recruiting season by landing Boatright, the 48th-ranked overall player in the 2011 class.
The point guard position at UNLV is currently manned by Oscar Bellfield, who has started in 55 career games at the school. If Boatright signs with the Rebels, Bellfield will be a senior during Boatright's freshman year.
Comments
Huge get for UNLV if they can pull it off. Kid is a player.
By all accounts, Boatright has a whole lot of game...good passer, surprisingly good rebounder, and a terrific scorer who has a knack for getting to the basket. I think too that playing for a season under the tutelage of a player like Bellfield, who should have something like 90 career starts under his belt if/when Boatright gets here, could prove to be an ideal scenario for the kid.
In Kruger's system, Boatright would certainly get his share of minutes, and he'd learn a lot from a very experienced point guard.
Go get him Kruger! Jabarie who?
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