by Alex Schwartz

I recently caught up with a quartet of players who decided on their future college within the past month, and I asked them about how they made their choices and who their other finalists were. Here's a rundown on my conversations via text message with Ferrakohn Hall '09, Akeem Richmond '09, Sean Johnson '09, and Koron Reed '09:

Ferrakohn Hall, White Station (TN), Seton Hall
Hall, a talented combo forward from a basketball hotbed in Memphis, Tennessee, confirmed to me that he has indeed signed his Letter of Intent with SHU. The question, though, is how he decided on the Pirates. “It all came down to Oklahoma, Baylor, UAB, and Seton Hall. The exposure of the Big East as well as the metropolitan area was the main attractions. Along with that, I felt that Seton Hall was the best fit for me because they really need a 3/4 man. With work, I’ll have the opportunity to get a lot of big minutes. They have a great player development coach in Scott Adubato and that was a big deal for me. [Also], my mom was very comfortable with handing me over to [Head] Coach Bobby Gonzalez. This is how I see it: If I can make it in the Big East, I can make it ANYWHERE. I [have] never backed down from a challenge, and I don’t plan to, especially not right now.” So did Hall wait so long to make his decision because he wanted to completely positive that he was making the best possible choice? “Most definitely, that’s the reason I waited so long, because I wanted to be completely positive about whom I wanted to hand my next two to four years to.” After reading that response, I inquired of Ferrakohn why he said "two to four years," and he replied, “Well, I say two to four years because you never know what may happen, but my full intention is to graduate from the sports management program at Seton Hall in four years, while playing all four years. That’s one of the things I forgot to mention to you, my education is very important, and SHU has a top five sports management program in the country, which is what I’ll be majoring in. Studying sports management there for four years will set me up to live the good life, with or without basketball.” The future Big East baller added, “It would be nice [to go to the NBA after two years], but my mindset now is to stay with my team and compete in the best college conference in the nation.”

Akeem Richmond, Southern Lee (NC), Rhode Island
The Tar Heel State star's ever-changing school lists were featured a number of times here on Northstar Basketball (July 08, September 08, December 08, January 09, and March 09). One of the mainstays on that list, for the most part, was Western Kentucky, but when it was all said and done, Richmond chose to go elsewhere deciding on Rhode Island. “They were very serious about me and they told me I would be an immediate help to the team, and it took some time, but yeah [I made my choice],” stated Richmond. He did inform me that Western Kentucky and Charlotte were his other finalists.

Sean Johnson, Christ the King (NY), Duquesne
The CTK star has been a star in the New York City hoops scene for quite some time, yet it still took him a while to decide on a school, but when he finally did, a Duquesne won out. “When I took the visit, I just knew I wanted to be part of the school [and the] program. It’s far away, but not too far from home. They play in a good conference [the Atlantic 10], and it was the best fit for me." The future Duke listed Nebraska, Manhattan, and Quinnipiac as the other schools he considered at the end.

Koron Reed, Roman Catholic (PA), Hampton
An undersized power forward, Reed was the top 4 man picked at the Hoop Group Elite Camp Session IV this past summer, played very well while there, and also had a nice showing at the 09 Prime Time Shootout. Thus, he is clearly a talented basketball player. How did Reed decide on the Pirates? “Well my visit was good. I got to talk to the players and it seemed like it would be a good fit for me.” Another school in the MEAC, Delaware State, was Koron's other finalist.

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