Georgia Tech is in the mix with Newton High five-star prospect Ashton Hagans. Coach Josh Pastner met with Hagans most recently Tuesday at the high school.
“We’ve spoken to Josh several times, probably more than anybody outside of the Georgia people,” said Chris Williams, the coach of Hagans’ Game Elite AAU team.
Hagans, a junior point guard, was committed to Georgia, but withdrew his commitment in late February because of the uncertainty of then-coach Mark Fox’s job security. Fox was dismissed following the SEC tournament and replaced by former Indiana coach Tom Crean.
While part of Georgia’s allure at the time of Hagans’ commitment was proximity to home, Williams discounted that being a significant factor going forward.
“He’s not looking at it like that anymore,” Williams said. “Just looking at it as, he can stay home or not stay home.”
Hagans, rated the No. 1 player in the state and the 18th overall in the junior class by ESPN, was named Mr. Georgia Basketball last week after leading the Rams to the Class AAAAAAA state semifinals. He’s the first junior to earn the honor since Shareef Abdur-Rahim did so at Wheeler in 1994.
Kentucky coach John Calipari called with a scholarship offer Thursday. New Louisville coach Chris Mack also made an offer shortly after his hire. New Memphis coach Penny Hardaway also made a visit.
“Obviously, anybody would be interested in Kentucky, but at the same time, he’s taking his time,” Williams said. “He’s wide-open right now. That’s not going to be the last scholarship offer to come in.”
Williams said that no decision has been made about reclassifying Hagans’ graduation year and enrolling in college this coming fall semester. Williams said that he thinks Hagans will have the opportunity to do so if he wants it, and that that decision would be made at the end of the summer.
That could be a complicating factor for schools recruiting him, as they may not have available scholarships at that point. Tech, for instance, has one open scholarship – two if guard Josh Okogie elects to stay in the draft – and is attempting to reach the 13-player maximum.
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