Vols host international prospect on official
Rick Barnes and his Tennessee basketball program welcomed their first official visitor of the fall last weekend, hosting intriguing African big man Reuben Chinyelu.
Chinyelu (6-foot-11, 210 pounds) attends the NBA Global Academy in South Africa and made the effort to make the trans-Atlantic trip to see what Tennessee’s program has to offer.
“I really liked the program a lot,” Chinyelu said of his trip to Knoxville. “Coach Barnes is a really impressive guy, a lot of fun to be around, and he’s obviously worked with a lot of players and he’s been able to develop them.”
Chinyelu is a part of the same NBA grassroots program that produced current Vol Santiago Vescovi, who attended similar programs in both Mexico and Australia.
Chinyelu has taken just one previous official visit, to Santa Clara in June. He has a return trip to the United States scheduled for later this month when he’ll return to visit Florida.
“I’m really not in any hurry to make a decision,” Chinyelu said. “I’m honestly hearing from so many different schools right now that it’s been hard to keep it all straight. Right now I’m just not sure about other visits or what kind of timetable I have for making a commitment.”
Chinyelu saw his recruiting stock soar this summer when the NBA Global Academy brought he and many other prospects to Atlanta to compete in a showcase during the NCAA’s open evaluation window in July.
Tennessee was just one of many programs who saw Chinyelu in that setting this summer and the Vols were quick to make an offer and start trying to set up an official visit.
“I really liked it there, the atmosphere was great,” said Chinyelu, who was on campus for the Vols’ football season opener against Ball State. “All the players on the team were really welcoming, they treated me like family. I enjoyed seeing how well everyone got along, it was a really cool environment.”
