Monday is Decision Day for prize basketball prospect Brandon Ingram, who is ranked No. 3 in the recruiting Class of 2015 by ESPN and No. 4 by Rivals.com.
Ingram, a 6-foot-8, 198-pound forward from Kinston (North Carolina) High, will at a 5:10 p.m., Central time, news conference announce for one of three in-state schools — Duke, North Carolina or North Carolina State — or one of three out-of-state contenders — Kansas University, Kentucky or UCLA.
“I think it’s going to come down to the best relationships and where I can develop myself the best to get to the next level after college basketball,” Ingram told the Kinston Free Press on Friday. “I’m just going to go back with my family and discuss it.”
Ingram averaged 24.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 3.0 blocks and 1.6 steals a game in leading Kinston (26-4) to its fourth straight state title. He had 28 points in a 60-43 state-title-game win over East Lincoln, 15 points in the recent McDonald’s All-America game and 12 in the Nike Hoop Summit.
“The duration of his recruitment and the fact that UNC, Duke and N.C. State all want him — and have for a while — have made Ingram’s recruitment perhaps the fiercest in North Carolina in recent memory,” wrote Andrew Carter of the Raleigh News and Observer.
Ingram is friends with former Kinston High standouts Jerry Stackhouse and Reggie Bullock, who both went to North Carolina. In fact, Ingram played on Stackhouse’s AAU team. Kinston High also is the alma mater of Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell (UNC Charlotte), Charles Shackleford (N.C. State) and Craig Dawson (Wake Forest). Ingram’s brother, Bo, played at Texas Arlington.
National recruiting analysts have deemed Duke the favorite to land Ingram, partly because Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski was the only coach recruiting Ingram to receive two in-home visits in a recent week’s span. UNC’s Roy Williams was the last coach to hold an in-home, last Wednesday. Meanwhile the News and Observer noted Ingram wore a Kansas shirt to school Friday.
Ingram’s dad, Donald, was asked about KU in an interview with kinston.com.
“Kansas has James A. Naismith, where basketball originated. I can’t say enough about Kansas as far as the staff and the way we were treated. The facility is just dynamic. … I like the facility and I love the coaches; they’ve been good and they contact us on the regular. … They call and talk about your lifestyle, ‘What’s going on with you?'” Donald Ingram said.
Brandon Ingram, who can play the 1 through 4 positions, was measured 6-9 1/2 in shoes at the Nike Hoop Summit with a 7-3 wingspan. He scored 12 points off 5-of-6 shooting with three rebounds in the Hoop Summit.
Wrote draftexpress.com: “Although he didn’t get a ton of looks in 26 minutes, Ingram was the US Team’s most efficient player as he showed his versatile skill set and potential on the offensive end. Ingram knocked down a spot up mid-range jumper, hit two pull up jumpers, got the defender up in the air on the perimeter with a head fake, and got to the rim in a straight line and finished. He also got to the line off of a straight line-drive going right. Ingram is very skilled and has excellent size and length for wing. He has a lot of work to do on his body and can improve his overall effort level but there’s a lot to like about Ingram, and he showed why on Saturday (at Hoop Summit).”
The bottom line on his decision was provided to Zagsblog.com by his dad.
“We have done our homework. I think the decision he makes Monday when he makes the announcement will be very satisfactory to everyone. What we’re asking is we know a lot of people are institution fans, whether its Carolina, Duke, N.C. State, Kansas, Kentucky, you are a fan of the institution. We are asking regardless of where he goes to continue to be a Brandon Ingram fan. You don’t have to be a fan of where he goes; you can still be a Brandon Ingram fan. That’s all we ask. We appreciate the support everyone has given us and we’re going to continue to support him,” Donald told the website.