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Emmanuel Mudiay, the nation’s top point guard in 2014, focusing on 10 teams

emmanuel-mudiay

HAMPTON, Va. -- Emmanuel Mudiay has the kind of problem that only faces the most elite recruits: he can’t remember all of the schools that he’s currently considering.

Asked to list the ten schools he’s currently considering on Saturday at Nike EYBL Hampton, Mudiay said, “Off the top of my head? Not right now.”

But that didn’t stop Rivals’ No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2014 from trying.

“Kentucky, Baylor, Arizona, Oklahoma State. Umm, Louisville, NC State, St. John’s. Uhh, did I say Louisville?” Kansas, Texas and SMU are the other three, and while the fact that they weren’t at the forefront of his mind may be disheartening to some of those schools that are chasing Mudiay, it should give you an idea of just how good recruiters think this kid is capable of being.

Mudiay is the proto-type for a combo-guard. He can get to the rim and finish with either hand, he’s got a solid mid-range game and his long-range shooting is developing but improved. He’s got a good handle and can bring the ball up against pressure, but he’s a scorer more than he is a distributor at this point in his development.

That’s not necessarily a negative, however; Mudiay stands 6-foot-4 and has enough athleticism that he gets thrown alley-oops off of set plays in half court offense.

A player with that size and ability capable of running the point is always going to be intriguing, which is one of the reasons that Kentucky has gotten involved in Mudiay’s recruitment.

“I had a home visit with [Coach Cal] on Wednesday. He’s a great guy. A great coach,” Mudiay said. But perhaps the biggest reason that Mudiay is interested in Kentucky is the way that Cal develops his ball-handlers. Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall, Brandon Knight, Marquis Teague.

“He does a good job with his point guards,” Mudiay said, “and that’s a big part that I really look into.”

“He wants to develop his guys and that’s all he cares about.”

Kentucky will have their work cut out for them if they want to pull their second straight point guard out of Texas. Mudiay is close with Isaiah Austin and Marcus Smart, and Baylor and Oklahoma State happen to be the two other schools that he’s had in-home visits with already.

“Baylor that’s down the street, an hour and 15 minutes away from me,” Mudiay said, while referring to Austin as his ‘brother’. “Oklahoma State, they put Marcus Smart in a great spot, so that definitely helps.”

While Mudiay and Smart have similar builds, there is one thing that the younger Texan can learn from last seasons’ best freshman: how to work hard on every possession.

“Taking no plays off,” Mudiay said when asked what his goal was to improve on this spring and summer. “That’s one thing I’m really working on. Bringing the dog out every game. That’s me, because I want to be real competitive out there, be a winner.”

(Image via Rivals)

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.