by Alex Schwartz

I recently had the chance to catch up with Akeem Richmond '09 of Southern Lee (NC), one of the best uncommitted players in America. In early December, Richmond had told me he was down to Tennessee and Western Kentucky (after saying in early September that it was down to WKU and Syracuse) and that he would decide by 2009, but clearly that did not happen, as his recruitment took another turn. "After I did so well at the Glaxco, I have been hearing from a lot of schools, over 20, [such as] UAB, Virginia, South Florida, Rhode Island, and a lot of others. So, I'm just very open right now," said Akeem via text message when I asked him for his school list. He claimed offers from schools such as Rhode Island, South Florida, Western Kentucky, East Carolina, UAB, and Charlotte, and added that Virginia was coming to watch him play, though he did stress that he is "wide open as of now." What about Tennessee? "Yeah [they have offered], but I don't have interest in them anymore." What makes this interesting is that when I first spoke to Akeem in late July at the AAU Super Showcase, he told me that Tennessee and North Carolina were his dream schools and even said that if Bruce Pearl and Co. offered he would commit. So why did he cross the Volunteers of his list then? "[I] felt like they didn't really want me, and plus, they have that [class of 2010] guard Josh Selby [of DeMatha in Maryland] coming in." Selby is regarded as one of the best juniors in the nation. "[I am] just trying [to] figure out who wants me the most, and right now, South Florida is coming at me the hardest," said Richmond. I asked Akeem what schools he is really considering, to which he replied, "The schools [that] I gave you. I'm giving them all looks to see what they have to offer." I'll keep you up to date on where Akeem Richmond's recruitment stands at as we move closer to the April signing period.

Note- photo is from http://scouthoops.scout.com/