Natyazhko to Arizona
In an interesting development, 6'10" 250 pound Kyryl Natyazhko of IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL has decided to attend Arizona, one day after telling me in an interview that Pittsburgh and Arizona State were tops on his list and that he has not even visited Arizona yet. But this is one situation where there may be more than meets the eye. As I have found out this evening, the unusual recruitment of Natyazhko may have something to do with the fact that some schools have recently found out that the Ukrainian may have trouble qualifying. As a person close to the situation tells me, "Kyryl faces major eligibility issues to play. His age, plus the fact he may have enrolled in college in the Ukraine will make it difficult for him to be eligible". In other words, Pitt, and maybe even Arizona State, may have found this out, clearing the way for Natyazhko to go to a school that he didn't even visit. That may explain the rush to commit when Natyazhko still had a visit in hand and was expected to visit Arizona next week. Of course, when the dust settles, Natyazhko may prove to be eligible. But the question marks suddenly got voluminous.
posted by Chris Dokish @ 10:18 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
how good was this kid anyways?
Like I said before, he was going to be a good player probably. But he wasn't an elite player. You are probably talking about somebody that would max out at no more than 12 ppg by the time he was a senior. A good player for sure, but hardly irreplaceable down the line.
I actually think its a big loss for us at Pitt. I saw this guy play and he is extremely well developed as an inside scorer and has even more upside. His eligibility may be an issue but he may have wanted to jump on the MIller bandwagon before AZ becomes a powerhouse again.
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