Coast 2 Coast Hoops ?@Coast2CoastHoop
UConn's Karl Hobbs will checkout '13 Long Beach Poly (CA) PF Jordan Bell.
FWIW, UConn's new coach, Kevin Ollie, is a native of LA. Oregon came in to see Bell last week.
If UConn offers, we're out. If they don't, we may have a fighting chance.
Pretty much, but if they don't, oh man, it's the Bell/Atewe sweepstakes.
Who is better? And when does Atewe plan on making a decision?
Atewe told GPC's Brett Regan he plans to make his decision on Nov 28, 1 wk after the early signing period is over.
Most indications are that Bell wants to sign early but he hasn't given a specific date that he wants to decide on yet.
As far as who is better, without having the luxury of having seen either 1 play, that can turn into a very subjective question. We can try to base it off their respective offer lists and their rankings. Bell appears to be the higher ranked prospect according to the national services - ESPN and Scout have him at 3* while Rivals appears to love what he brings to the table, ranking him as a Top 75 4* prospect. Atewe is not currently ranked by any of the national services, although NERR(a very solid site in my experience) has him ranked as the 4th best prospect in the state of MA for the Class of '13.
Offer wise, Bell is reportedly receiving the most interest from KSU, Oregon, and Clemson and as noted above, UConn is lurking. Atewe might actually have a more impressive offer list at this point(at least larger) with strong interest from KSU, Memphis, Marquette, Charlotte, Dayton, and St. Bonaventure. He's reportedly visiting Memphis this upcoming weekend.
The main thing we know about both of their games is that currently, their primary abilities are on the defensive end of the floor. Both are reported to be big-time shot blockers who can provide a major defensive presence but their offensive games would both be considered raw at this time. Atewe has a couple inches on Bell(6'9" to 6'7" - having stood within a couple feet of Atewe, I do believe he's a legit 6'9") but from what I can gather, Bell is more athletic.
All that said, I don't think it will be a major loss if we get Atewe over Bell or vice versa. If forced to choose, I would take Bell due to his better overall athleticism which would ideally lead to better versatility on the floor - but again not by a lot.