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Another top 100 high school recruit has trimmed his list of suitors down to a handful of teams. Well, two handfuls to be exact as four star power forward Ira Lee has narrowed his options to nine schools he could potentially end up at. Lee tweeted out his list Thursday night with an image decorated with the logos of the nine schools: Maryland, Arizona, Oregon, Cal, USC, Oklahoma State, Texas, Kansas, and Georgia Tech.
I want to thank all the coaches and programs that recruited me but this is my final 9 #Decisions pic.twitter.com/BefGdKOYib
— Ira Lee (@iramandoesit) August 5, 2016
ESPN ranks the 6'7" four as the 77th best player in their top 100 for 2017 and the 11th best at his position, while 247sports composite rankings lists Lee at 53rd overall and the fifth among power forwards. Matriculating from Prolific Prep in Napa, California, Lee is a long, athletic power forward. He is an explosive athlete and excels at attacking the rim off the dribble as well as capitalizing on put-backs as a result of his rebounding prowess and lobs due to his leaping ability. The Californian runs the floor well and is quite capable of finishing in traffic and transition. He's even got a nice little mid range jumper that, if he can hit with consistency, will give him a very versatile offensive game. Once he hits the college scene, defensively, we will see if he has the strength to make up for being an undersized power forward and if he can translate his length into prolific shot blocking.
Once again, the Terps have their name added to the list of another highly touted recruit. This is great for Maryland as it shows that they are a program that top level talents are paying attention to. 247sports Crystal Ball has Arizona as the overwhelming favorites to land Lee with an 89% chance, but with Maryland basketball on this list it shows that they can at the very least compete with other top programs across the country for the best players. Not only that but the Terps are proving that they can recruit nationally.