Former UConn big man Alex Oriakhi is the hottest recruit in the nation. He has one year of eligibility remaining, a stellar academic record, and because the Huskies are currently out of the 2013 NCAA Tournament because of low APR scores, Oriakhi won't have to sit out a year as a transfer -- he can play immediately.
Which is why the queue has formed, and it includes some pretty big names, from Duke and North Carolina in the ACC to Kentucky and Missouri in the SEC. The latest: Oriakhi plans to visit the four aforementioned schools, though it doesn't mean he's whittled his list to just these programs.
The Hartford Courant's Dom Amore "spoke to someone with knowledge of Oriakhi's thinking" and came away with this: Oriakhi is looking for a school that will promise him 30 minutes a game. (Honestly, that sounds preposterous, especially since Oriakhi's minutes decreased from his sophomore to junior seasons.)
Amore mentions that, in addition to UNC, Duke, Kentucky and Missouri, Oriakhi is also talking to Kansas, Ohio State, Southern Cal, UCLA and NC State.
One issue with heading to the SEC: the conference doesn't allow one-year transfers without a special exemption. Could that be an impediment for Kentucky and Missouri? Not necessarily, according to CBSSports.com's Jeff Goodman, who tweets that "I've been told that Oriakhi will be able to play at SEC school if he chooses an area of study that is not offered at UConn." More good news for the Wildcats, who will lose just about everybody from their national championship team.
Kentucky's John Calipari expected to meet with UConn transfer Alex Oriakhi today. Oriakhi has one year left and can play immediately. — Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanCBS) April 5, 2012
