Milligan, Okolie & Smith Discuss Recruitment

by Alex Schwartz

At the Reebok Breakout Challenge, there was no player who truly did breakout more than 6'2 point guard Jonathan Milligan. A class of 2012 prospect out of Casa Grande Union (AZ), Milligan was one of the best players at the event despite coming in with little to no fanfare.

When he spoke with Northstar Basketball at the Reebok camp, Milligan (pictured on left) did not have any scholarship offers. He listed interest from Clemson, Oregon State, Central Michigan, and San Francisco.

"There's a couple other schools I can't remember," Milligan added. "Schools are just finding out about me."

Milligan, who lists his midrange game as his main strength on the court and his defense as his chief weakness, said he is "working hard to get" offers.

As for what he is looking for in a school, Milligan said, "I'm not sure where I wanna go yet, but I wanna go someplace where the coach is gonna force me to get better."

Another player who came to the Reebok Breakout Challenge without a big reputation was 6'7 class of 2013 small forward Agunwa Okolie. The long wing attends high school outside of the USA, at Denis O'Connor in Ajax, Ontario in Canada.

Okolie said he has an 85 average in the classroom and is looking for a school that can offer quality basketball and academics. He said he was not sure of his scholarship offers, but listed interest from Stanford, Elon and Lafayette.

The rising junior said Stanford and Elon are standing out to him right now, though he has yet to take any college visits. He plans to take some trips after the summer circuit comes to an end.

Unlike Milligan and Okolie, 6'8 center Joshua Smith of Olympic (NC) was already a known commodity entering the Reebok event. However, he took advantage of the exposure to increase his reputation.

When he spoke with Northstar Basketball at the camp, Smith listed offers from Winthrop, Gardner-Webb, East Carolina, Appalachian State, Western Carolina, Presbyterian, The Citadel, and UNC-Greensboro. He noted that he was receiving interest from Virginia, Elon and others.

Smith said that Appalachian State was his favorite, but noted that it is the only school he has visited and said "that's why it's at the top of [the] list right now."

The big man said he had no other visits planned and also did not have a timetable for a commitment. According to ESPN's Dave Telep, Clemson is another school that has since extended a scholarship offer to Smith.

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

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