Tuesday, March 12, 2013
With season over, Frazier focuses on visits
By Max Olson
AUSTIN, Texas -- Keith Frazier (Dallas/Kimball) grins and laughs when the tougher questions come up, like which school is No. 1 or which official visit was the best of the three he’s taken. He came to Austin to play basketball, not drop any recruiting news.
But now that the UIL state championships are over and Frazier’s senior season has ended, it’s time for the ESPN 100 guard to start closing in on a decision. Next up could be two final official visits.
ESPN 100 SG Keith Frazier has two more official visits to take before making his college decision.
The No. 48-ranked recruit nationally scored 24 and added eight rebounds and four steals, but he and Kimball came up just short of winning a third consecutive state championship Saturday in a 55-47 finals loss to Rosenberg Terry.
Frazier had completely set aside his recruitment going into the state tournament. Now it’s back in focus, and some big decisions need to be made.
“Ever since the playoffs started, he’s had tunnel vision and we really haven’t discussed it too much,” mentor Erven Davis said. “We’ll sit down this week and kind of see where we’re at and go from there.”
The big question Davis wants to answer this week: Will Frazier take an official visit to Texas A&M next? That appears to be the plan, and Davis said it’s possible Frazier will make Auburn his final official visit.
“I’m excited,” Frazier said. “I’m trying to wrap this up and get ready to go the college.”
SMU, Texas and Texas Tech remain in Frazier’s top five along with those two programs. He’s taken official visits to all three, and Davis said all each visit was impressive enough to keep the schools in contention.
There is a perception -- and a fairly rampant one -- that when it’s all said and done Frazier is going to SMU. But Frazier is quick to say he has no favorites right now, that every school is even.
“That’s the reason why it’s called perception,” Davis said. “Coach [Larry] Brown and Ulric Maligi and those guys have done an excellent job. They haven’t done anything to discredit themselves or knock themselves out. But there also hasn’t been anything that’s come out of my mouth or Keith’s mouth or anybody close to him saying, ‘Hey, this is what we’re going to do.’
“We’re going to take a look at it. You never know if you’re doing the right thing, but we’re trying to do the right thing.”
It’s the relationships Frazier and Davis have with assistant coaches -- John Reese and Glynn Cyprien at A&M, Ryan Miller at Auburn -- that have put those final two schools on Frazier’s short list for official visits. He’d like to take them soon, but a decision date is still up in the air.
Davis said he could announce that date in the near future. Or Frazier could wait until the McDonald’s All-American Game in April. It all depends on his visit plans.
“I have no clue,” Frazier said. “I’m going to sit down with my circle -- Coach E and my mom -- and see what happens.”
The fact that Texas is, at 15-16, about to wrap up a disappointing and quite possibly losing season doesn’t bother Frazier much. After all, SMU is currently 15-16 and Texas Tech is 10-19.
Davis is confident each of those programs are in a position to make a big move if they add Frazier to their starting lineup.
“I think Texas has got a young team that can be really good really quick,” Davis said. “You look at all the schools on his list, they’re all schools that might be struggling a little bit right now but have potential to turn it around real quick.”
The mentor and AAU coach said he doesn’t want this process to drag on. Frazier is one of only five prospects in ESPN’s top 50 that have yet to make a pledge, and he’s ready to bring this five-year process to an end soon.
“We’re going to get together and probably take a couple more visits, then sit down and get ready for my college decision,” Frazier said.
