UNC became the sixth offer on the Brandon Ingram basketball scholarship table Tuesday — and he’s not even 16-years-old yet.
The 6-foot-7 Kinston High School forward will head into his junior year with bids from several schools, including N.C. State, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Virginia Commonwealth University and University of Minnesota. He has a couple more years to develop, so Ingram is anticipating more offers.
“I get all these calls everyday,” he said. “I’m enjoying the love that I get from the Louisville calls, the Butler calls, the Clemson calls. They’re all big schools, so I’m just waiting on that moment for them to come and see me develop.
“I’m not going to stop here.”
Ingram said his height, long arms and shooting attracts schools, but he understands he must develop defensively and get stronger.
He got a sneak-peak of the recruiting process when his older brother, Bo,signed with a Texas junior college in 2008 and later University of Texas at Arlington.
“I watched him a lot,” Ingram said. “He told me just to stay in the books and keep working hard. There’s always someone out there working harder than you.”
He seems to be on the right track.
With half a dozen offers so far, he said he will likely wait until his senior year before deciding on a program and will chose one “where I can fit in.”
His father, Donald, said he would help direct his son while letting him make the final selection.
“I’m going to help guide him in the right direction on evaluating the school that he’s looking at as far as their past record of getting people to the next level,” Donald Ingram said. “The decision that he makes is going to be a life long decision that he’s going to have to live with.”
Donald said the last three offers — from Virginia Tech, VCU and UNC — all came within a month. He said all the schools are quality schools, but it’s hard to read Brandon’s reaction to the offers.
“That’s something that’s hard to tell,” Donald Ingram said. “Since these offers have been coming in, he still has the same demeanor about him, but I know he’s feeling good about (it).”
Brandon Ingram said he was excited about the UNC offer.
“I kind of knew it was coming,” he said.
As a Kinston High sophomore, Ingram averaged 12.7 points and 4 rebounds last season.He had 12 points and three blocks in the 2A state championship win over Waxhaw Cuthbertson, 56-53.
Ingram called himself a “competitor,” using the court to attack the best players. He thinks he is well-suited for Kinston High basketball.
“I think the Kinston basketball program is the best in the state,” he said. “For 2A, we have a lot of good talent there. It’s just really a great place to play with very disciplined kids. I hope to continue to grow with our team, build chemistry and hopefully get to the state title again.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 and Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
