Pitt looks like it is working on a small forward out of North Carolina (via Big East Blog).
By the start of school, Marhold, now 6-7, came to campus at 215 pounds, and he hasn’t slowed down his work rate.
“Andre has improved 100 percent from last year,” Lewis said. “He’s a gym rat. He really buys into it. He works hard. He leaves our practices now and goes and works out again.”
Marhold averages 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Vikings, who play at Harding tonight in a second-round game of the N.C. 4A playoffs. Besides the Clemson offer, Lewis said Marhold is getting serious recruiting interest from Charlotte, N.C. State, Pittsburgh, Virginia and Winthrop.
Lewis said the schools like Marhold’s long wingspan, his strength and his athleticism. Marhold dunks effortlessly in games from a flat-footed position and jumps over similar players for soft moves around the basket.
“He jumps so high,” teammate Kyle Gaillard said, “sometimes I think he’ll hit his head on the ceiling.”
Telep, the national recruiting analyst for scout.com, thinks Marhold is a potential national top 100 player next year and among the top five or six in a 2009 N.C. class that could be the best in years.
“He’s a guy who is gradually earning high major-level offers,” Telep said. “He’s got a chance to play in one of the big leagues in college because of his athleticism. He just needs to continue to work on his perimeter shot and his overall game.”
Right now, he’s a 3-star prospect at the small forward position. In the ESPN.com/Scouts, Inc. evaluation (Insider subs.), they see him as a tweener at the forward spot.
Marhold is not a true small forward or power forward, but he can do some of the things that coaches look for in both positions. He is explosive, finishes well at the rim and is good in transition. Marhold only has average perimeter skills and needs to improve in all areas as a perimeter player. He needs to work on his 3-point shooting, ball handling and decision making as a player.
The one thing all agree is that he has a high motor, works hard and can get better.
