[jwplayer KIUnpLSA]
No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2023 Mikey Williams on Wednesday narrowed down his list to 10 schools that he is considering for his collegiate recruitment.
Among his list, Williams included five historically Black college or university programs: North Carolina Central, Alabama State, Texas Southern, Hampton and Tennessee State. In addition to those schools, Kansas, USC, Memphis and Arizona State made up the rest of his top 10 list.
The inclusion of the HBCU schools comes after he stated last month he would strongly consider playing at an HBCU after his mother attended Hampton University. He could follow in the footsteps of five-star recruit Makur Maker to commit to an HBCU, who announced this month he would play at Hampton.
I appreciate every college that has recruited me up until this point but here’s my top 10. Let’s Rock! pic.twitter.com/wcWQDnV8wR
— Mikey Williams (@619PRESIDENTIAL) July 22, 2020
The idea of committing to play at an HBCU has gained traction in recent weeks following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others. Williams playing at an HBCU would help generate massive interest and revenue in the community.
Perhaps the other big surprise in his final list is the exclusion of turning professional early.
Several high-profile prospects, such as Jalen Green, Isaiah Todd and Jonathan Kuminga, have committed to the NBA G League professional pathway program in recent weeks. Players in that program can earn as much as $500,000 as more prospects look to capitalize early off of their name.
Of course, Williams could still look to turn pro early but the idea of staying in college is still very much a possibility for the 16-year-old five-star prospect.
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