LITTLE ROCK — Texas power forward Jordan Mickey, one of the nation’s top prospects, arrived in Fayetteville on Sunday afternoon for an unofficial visit to Arkansas and left about noon Monday.
“It was a great visit, nice facilities,” said Mickey, who reports that Arkansas is supposed to break ground on the new practice facility after the 2012-2013 season. “They have a nice campus. Everything is top-of-a-line.”
Mickey, 6-8, 215 pounds of Arlington Grace Prep, reports Arkansas, Louisville, Ohio State, West Virginia and Oklahoma as being among the 40 schools who have offered him a scholarship. He said he hopes to reduce his list to 10 schools by the end of July and be down to his final five schools by August. He said the visit definitely helped the Hogs in making those lists.
Mickey was accompanied by his father. They previously visited Louisville, Ohio State, West Virginia and Kentucky.
Mickey was able to watch a Hogs’ workout thanks to a new NCAA rule allowing coaches two hours a week to work with their team on the court.
“It was great workout,” Mickey said. “They did a lot of skills stuff, some shooting, coming off of screens. I noticed their style of play and how they play on defense and on offense.”
Mickey, who plays for Urban DFW Elite during spring and summer, played in the Real Deal in the Rock basketball tournament in Little Rock in April, said he was looking to see how the players and coaches interacted.
“The coaches and the players got along great,” Mickey said. “They listened to everything he said and there’s no talking back or anything. They have a great relationship.”
Mickey is rated as the nation’s No. 21 prospect by Van Coleman, who operates the Hot100hoops.com scouting service and is the National Director of Basketball for XOFan.com network.
Coleman described Mickey as a skilled and athletic combo guard who can attack the rim off the dribble and finish with a bounce.
Plus, Coleman said, “He has the length and quick feet to be a good defender.” Mickey’s father, James Wright, said he was impressed with Arkansas’ offense and the opportunity it presents his son to showcase his talents.
“Everybody on that floor has the opportunity to score,” Wright said. “Just find the weak link and exploit it. It’s really good offense for Jordan’s style of play being that he’s long and athletic. He can exploit big guys on the outside and through the switching of the screens. If he catches a guard on him, he can take the guard to the block. So the offense they run showcases his style of play.”
TOUTED GUARD TO VISIT
The Hogs are expected to host highly touted point guard Kendal Harris for an unofficial visit Thursday.
Harris, 6-4, 195 pounds, of Richardson (Texas) Berkner, reports that Arkansas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Missouri are among the16 schools offering scholarships.
“First of all, I’m really excited to get up there and meet the coach,” said Harris, who plays for Urban DFW Elite and is teammates with Jordan Mickey. “I’m expecting to see nice facilities and to be able to have that feeling with the coach.”
The Razorbacks’ uptempo style of play is Harris’ main reason for liking Arkansas.
“They play pressure defense and they’re a fast-paced team,” Harris said. “That’s the style I like, and that’s what we do at my high school.”
Harris, whose brother Terrel plays guard for the NBA world champions Miami Heat, said he and Mickey would like to attend the same college.
“We talk about it all the time, to be honest,” said Harris, who rode in the Heat’s parade celebrating the championship Monday in Miami. “I tell him I don’t want to be by myself and he doesn’t to be by himself. We both could go to the same school. Why not?”
CULP COMING
Fayetteville receiver Brad Culp said he plans to walk on at Arkansas to play football.
Culp, 6-1, 183, 4.43 seconds in the 40-yard dash, had scholarship offers from several schools, including Ole Miss and North Carolina, but waited too long and saw the offers go away after hoping to receive an offer from the Hogs.
“I was kind of waiting and putting them off to try and get Arkansas to offer me.” Culp said.
Culp, a two-time winner of the Arkansas state decathlon competition, said playing for the Hogs is only natural for him.
“I’ve lived here 18 years and I’ve truly been a Hog fan my whole life,” Culp said. “I feel like I can do it, and that’s enough reasoning for me to stay here.”
DECISION TIME
Tight end Christian Morgan, 6-6, 245, 4.75, of Plano (Texas) Prestonwood Christian Academy, will announce his college decision at 5 p.m. today. He will choose between Arkansas, Florida State, Baylor and Ole miss.
E-mail Richard Davenport at [email protected]
Sports, Pages 21 on 06/26/2012