NCAA Basketball: Where will five-star F Brandon Huntley-Hatfield end up?

Top-10 overall recruit Brandon Huntley-Hatfield is choosing between one of 11 NCAA Basketball programs. Which of them is the best landing spot?

While 95% of the NCAA Basketball recruiting attention is rightfully on the 2021 class, there are some high-level players from the 2022 group that are making moves of their own. The most notable is No. 1 overall prospect Emoni Bates, who recently committed to Michigan State. But there’s another five-star power forward in his class that deserves his own shine in Brandon Huntley-Hatfield.

Listed at 6’8 and around 210 pounds, Huntley-Hatfield is the perfect example of a modern-day power forward that can stretch the floor. He already can shoot the ball at a high level and can make a good amount of three-pointers. The five-star recruit usually likes to face the basket but does have an array of offensive moves and projects to be one of the top-scoring freshmen for whichever team he chooses for the 2022-23 season.

Originally from the state of Tennessee, Huntley-Hatfield has played his high school basketball already in both Florida and Pennsylvania, so there isn’t a true hometown advantage of any program in this recruitment. But we now know which NCAA Basketball is officially in the running to land this player:

The list features some heavyweights, as well as programs some would be surprised to see in the running for a five-star piece. The rest of the piece takes a closer look at each program for Huntley-Hatfield and how he would fit with each of them. Who is the best option?

Auburn Tigers

Under head coach Bruce Pearl, the Tigers have elevated themselves to one of the top teams in the SEC, most recently reaching a Final Four in 2019. They’ll be rebuilding after losing their top six scorers from last season but do bring in five-star point guard recruit Sharife Cooper.

While Cooper won’t likely be around by the time Huntley-Hatfield would arrive at Auburn but there is a core of underclassmen that would be, including Devan Cambridge and JT Thor. This prospect in question would be the star of a team filled with experience and talent and may even be the missing piece to another potential Final Four run.