Davis Nwankwo, a prized high school center, won’t be a Wildcatnext season.
Nwankwo told The Daily he verbally committed to Vanderbilt onWednesday, which marked the beginning of the late-signingperiod.
“I just thought it was the right place,” Nwankwo said. “It’s agood fit for me. When I visited there, everything felt right. Thecoaches were great, the players and the teachers.”
Some recruiting experts considered the 6-foot-10, 240-poundcenter/power forward, to be one of the premier high school playersin the nation. USA Today ranked Nwankwo one of the top 50 highschool players in the class of 2004. TheInsiders.com Web site ratedhim the No. 9 center in the country.
Nwankwo, of College Park, Md., began thinking about playing forNorthwestern this year because of its academic reputation. He saidthe Cats’ Princeton offense also attracted him. He visited Evanstonon March 30, during his Spring Break. It was an unofficial visit,since he already had used up his five official recruitingtrips.
Following his visit to NU, Nwankwo traveled to Vanderbilt. Hejoined recruit Alan Metcalfe, a 6-foot-10 forward, on the trip.Nwankwo said Metcalfe also committed to the CommodoresWednesday.
Vanderbilt is coming off its first trip to the NCAA tournamentsince 1993. The Commodores lost in the Sweet 16 to Connecticut, theeventual national champion.
Nwankwo said Vanderbilt’s success didn’t play a major role inhis decision.
As of Tuesday, Nwankwo had said he still was wrestling with thedecision of where he would play. He said he had wanted to sign withArizona, but his parents didn’t want him to go there because ofacademic concerns.
Nwankwo said Stanford had been one of his top choices, but hewas denied admission to the school.
For Nwankwo — who said he averaged about 13 points, 11 reboundsand three blocks per game this season at Georgetown Prep in NorthBethesda, Md. — his announcement that he’ll play for theCommodores marks the end of an ongoing recruiting saga.
“I’ve been holding it in for so long,” Nwankwo said. “I couldhave made the decision in early November, but things didn’t workout.”��
