Rollins Has Favorite, But Will Offer Come
Hakeem Rollins, the fast-rising 6-8, 235 pound power forward from Mesa C.C. in Mesa, Ariz., is going to be a busy man over the next few weekends.
Mesa Head Coach Alton Lister told JUCO Junction on Monday that Rollins has tentatively scheduled a trio official visits following Final Four weekend.
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Rollins will visit Washington (Apr. 11-13), Minnesota (Apr. 18-20) and Stanford (Apr. 25-27), according to Lister. Last month, he took official visits to UC-Santa Barbara (March 1) and Southern Illinois (March 16).
However, this recruiting process could come to a quick end should Stanford pony up a scholarship offer. The Cardinal have yet to offer Rollins, but Lister said that the elite academic institution is clearly Hakeem's top choice at this juncture.
A qualifier out of high school in Mesa, Ariz., Rollins was a bit of a late bloomer. He didn't travel the spring or summer basketball circuit, but has developed rapidly under the tutelage of ex-NBAer Lister.
This past season at Mesa, Rollins averaged 24.8 points and 8.9 rebounds. In a triple overtime game against Cochise, he collected season highs of 47 points, 21 rebounds and nine blocks.
"He is skilled, athletic and he has grades," Lister said. "You just don't find that combination very often in the junior college ranks."
"He can score in a number of different ways," Lister continued. "He can score facing up or with his back to the basket, he hits free throws and he finishes around the basket."
While JUCO Junction didn't get a chance to see Rollins in action this winter, a number of coaches we spoke with felt that Rollins didn't play hard all of the time. That seemed to be the one knock on Rollins that consistently came up when talking about his game.
"He plays hard, but he doesn't play aggressively all of the time," admitted Lister. "This was basically his first full year of college basketball, and he never was exposed to the AAU basketball."
Lister feels that Rollins' best basketball is still ahead of him.
"Once he gets into the right program, he will do very well, because he's so athletic and skilled," the coach said.
Rollins is only 19 years old, which suggests that he can continue to grow and get stronger over his final two years of college. When he arrived at Mesa, he was only 6-7, 210 pounds.
JUCO Junction will keep you posted on Rollins' situation as his visits progress this month, so stay tuned!