NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Where will 2019 prospect Armando Bacot land?
Armando Bacot is down to his final list of five teams that he’s considering. Which of them will land the five-star class of 2019 big man?
When it comes to outstanding big men, the 2019 recruiting class has quite a few of them. Some are pretty much locked in when it comes to who many project them to go to, while others are a bit more open still in the process.
One of them is Armando Bacot, a 6’9 and 235-pound forward/center who hails from Richmond, Virginia. He recently elevated to five-star status due to his strong play as of late and he plans to play for the prestigious IMG Academy his senior season in high school.
Bacot already has an impressive resume, including winning MVP of the Nike EYBL Peach Jam in the AAU Circuit as well as participating on the USA U18 Gold Medal squad. With the accolades piling up, it makes whoever gets him in a great position for the 2019-20 season.
In terms of his suitors, Bacot is now down to five teams, per his Twitter page. They’re Duke, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma State and VCU. It’s a unique list but for now, these five teams are in the running for a five-star big man.
For the rest of this piece, I’ll look at the five respective programs, and judge on how good a shot they each have at landing Bacot, as well as what lies ahead if he chooses them.
VCU Rams (Hometown threat)
The A-10 program was the outlier of the teams but is the wildcard in Bacot’s recruitment. They’re the hometown school for the Richmond native and he can play in front of his friends and family for a season before going pro. With Justin Tillman already graduated, Bacot would instantly be the star of the team and paired with De’Riante Jenkins and Issac Vann would be the league favorites in 2019-20.
VCU’s chances of landing Bacot all comes down to how much he wants to play at home. If it’s a giant factor then they have a legit shot. If not, then the Rams have no shot whatsoever. Just in case, they might not want to finish in the middle of the A-10 again so that they leave a good impression on him this next year.