Noah Locke evaluates his final eight schools

Colby Giacubeno August 1, 2017 @ 07:19 PM

2018 guard McDonogh/Team Melo guard Noah Locke has been one of the true stock risers since April. Prior to this time, Locke had the reputation as being one of the best pure shooters the class had to offer, but as he improved other aspects within his game, high majors began to take notice as soon as the first live period. Since then, it's been a flood of high major offers for the 6'3 sniper. Locke has a total of 33 offers, but announced today that he will cut that list down to eight schools. I caught up with the top 20 shooting guard his reasoning for each of those schools that he is moving forward with. "These eight school have been contacting me the most and making me a priority," Locke told PrepHoops. "They've told me that I'd come in and be a contributor right away and I'd be able to play a lot of minutes my freshman year. All of these coaches have experience as in knowing what it takes to get to the NBA, and that's my ultimate goal." Locke's Final Eight (in no specific order): Xavier: "I really like Coach Mack. We've been in contact a lot. He's a really good guy. He calls me and tells me things I need to work on now. He tells me the things I need to improve on to get to the NBA and he's one of the only coaches that has critiqued me like that." Providence: "Coach Cooley is what his name is, cool. He makes me a priority. I'd be a guy that comes in and plays right away and be a face of the program. He also has history of getting players from our league and area." Florida: "Coach Mike White is a really nice guy, my family really likes him. I want to get down on a visit soon, but the team speaks for itself. They're a top 25 team almost every year and some great guards have come out of that school. They let their guards do what they do. That's something I'm really considering." Kansas: "I mean Kansas speaks for itself. It was great to get that offer. People dream to get an offer from Kansas. Pretty much every kid that goes to Kansas gets drafted. It's a great school and I'm pretty sure once I see their facilities, I'll be mind blown. With this being a new offer, I really don't know everyone on the coaching staff, so I'm looking forward to meeting them." Michigan: "Man I really like Michigan. When I went to visit, Coach Beilein took my family and I on the entire visit himself and showed us everything. It was great there. The atmosphere was great. We're walking out on the streets and people were just excited to see him and us walking around. The facilities were great. I fit their playing style, too. We actually run a lot of there sets here at McDonogh." Virginia: "They're a great program too. Always at the top of the standings throughout the country. I've talked to Coach Bennett plenty of times and he tells me I'll be able to come in and play but I have to lock in on defense. I really like that, it forces you to show a lot of grit. Coach Bennett has played in the NBA, so I'm sure he has a whole bunch of connections there. They have some great history there with Malcolm Brogdon winning NBA Rookie of the Year last year and guys like Justin Anderson seeing success in the NBA. Plus, it's close to home." Ohio State: "Another new offer, but the coaching staff came from Butler. Coach Holtmann and Coach Schrage have been recruiting me at Butler since the beginning of my junior season. They were recruiting me hard, but once my recruitment started to pick up they thought with them being at Butler, they wouldn't be in the running. Once they went to Ohio State they immediately hopped back on. It's been great. I have a long relationship with them. I have to go visit there soon and learn more about the school." Maryland: "Hometown school. They're one of my later offers too, but they were recruiting me for a while. Coach Bino [Ranson] stays in contact with me every day. Every kid from this area wants an offer from Maryland. With it being my hometown school, it'd be great to be apart of." Locke plans to take his visits from this point until his high school season ramps up in October. He wants to cut this current list of eight down to four or five schools before making a commitment. As of now, his plan is to make his decision before the early signing period.