LITTLE ROCK — Highly touted junior center/forward Hunter Mickelson of Jonesboro Westside made an oral commitment to Arkansas on Wednesday afternoon after making an unofficial visit to Fayetteville over the weekend.
Mickelson, 6-10 1 /2, 195 pounds, had scholarship offers from Arkansas, Ole Miss, Kentucky, OregonState, Baylor, Florida, Wake Forest and others.
“It’s because of the relationship I have with Coach [John] Pelphrey and his staff,”said Mickelson of why he picked Arkansas. “Me and my parents and my coaches talked about it, and it would be a really good fit for me and I was comfortable with it.”
Mickelson averaged 22 points, 15 rebounds and 8 blocked shots per game this season in leading the Warriors to a 32-3 record and Class 4A state title. He was named the MVP of the 4A state tournament.
Mickelson said he’s willing to play at any position but believes he’ll play one ofthe two forward spots.
“I have to work on my left hand a lot and my ball handling if I’m going to be playing the three or four,” Mickelson said.
National recruiting analyst Van Coleman of hoopmasters.com sees a bright future for Mickelson, whom he rates as one of the nation’s top 75 prospects.
“He’s a long, big kid that has a chance to be an impact player as a freshman and sophomore because of his ability to defend the post and to score both facing and down in the blocks,” Coleman said.He really runs well and is a guy that has a chance down the road as his body fills and matures. The NBA is going to look hard at him by the time he’s a junior in college.”
Despite being one of the more highly sought prospects in the country, Mickelson said he doesn’t plan to visit any other schools.
“If they ask me to come and visit, I’ll politely decline,” Mickelson said. “Even though I verbally committed, I plan to sign.
With Mickelson’s commitment, Arkansas has two members of the Arkansas Wings summer team in the fold. Little Rock Parkview forward Aaron Ross, 6-6, 215, orallycommitted to the Razorbacks as a freshman.
Other Wings players Arkansas is interested in include East Poinsett County guard Rashard Madden, 6-4, 175; forward David Rivers, 6-7, 190, of Little Rock Hall; forward Darion Griswold, 6-5, 245, of Dumas; and center Hooper Vint, 6-11, 210, of Van Buren.
Madden has numerous offers, including one from Arkansas. Mickelson said he won’t be pressuring his teammates to join him.
“We might joke about it, but it’s kind of their little individual thing,” he said. “It’s whatever they decide.”
Oral commitments are nonbinding.
Sports, Pages 19 on 05/06/2010