GREENFIELD — Indiana, UConn, North Carolina, which one will it be?
Greenfield-Central boys basketball standout Braylon Mullins, a 5-star recruit and considered by most recruiting websites as a top 20 player in the nation, narrowed his choices for his post-Greenfield destination earlier this week.
The 6-5 guard and candidate for Indiana Mr. Basketball and McDonald’s All-American said he plans on announcing his college choice in October and could sign his national letter-of-intent in November.
Mullins has taken official visits to all three and knows his choice will not be an easy one.
He went to Connecticut in August and had trips to North Carolina and Indiana earlier this month.
Mullins talked earlier this week about what he liked about each of his visits.
“When I visited, [UConn] didn’t have workouts going, but I saw a glimpse of what [head] coach [Dan] Hurley brings to the table,” Mullins said of his trip to Connecticut. “He’s very, very, like that energy coach … He’s definitely one of the coaches that will get me to my next goal [playing in the NBA] and told me he could get me to my goals. I really have a good relationship with the staff, coach Hurley, coach [Luke] Murray. I enjoyed my time there. The campus is really, really nice. Practice was great, but the most important thing was the basketball piece and that’s what they bring to the table, and it’s definitely serious stuff over there.”
Mullins made his official visit to North Carolina earlier this month.
“I probably have one of the better relationships with this coaching staff,” Mullins said. “All of the coaches that have recruited me I have really good relationships with. [Head] coach [Hubert] Davis is the most genuine person I’ve talked to. Coach Davis, [Sean] May, [Brad] Frederick, I definitely have good relationships with them. When I watch practice the style of play is very up beat, they play really fast.
“Everything [during the recruiting process] is getting me in the right direction [to my goals] and that’s why these [three] schools were picked.”
Last weekend Mullins was in Bloomington.
“IU is down the road, and has that geographical part knowing it’s just an hour away and all the benefits that comes with that,” Mullins said. “[Head] coach [Mike] Woodson, he’s changing up the play style a little bit. It used to be just the bigs-system, but he’s letting them play a little more. When I got to watch practice it showed.
“I definitely have a really good relationship with coach [Brian] Walsh, coach [Jordan] Hulls and coach Woodson. I’ve enjoyed my time with them recruiting me and that’s why I have them in my top three, but I also have to get something done, because I can only pick one school.”
Mullins said he has finished with visits to schools and will not make any more official or unofficial visits. Coaches from all three schools have been in Greenfield to watch Mullins work out. There will also be plenty of back and forth phone calls and text messages.
Mullins seems to be handling all the attention well. He’s been on the national radar for the last year. Even before he narrowed his choices to 10 schools, which included, along with his final three, Purdue, Michigan, Duke, Tennessee, Kansas, Kentucky and Alabama, he was getting offers and interest from a number of other big-time schools, including Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa, Arkansas, Virginia Tech among others from various conferences.
“I am grateful for it all,” Mullins said. “You’re excited and enjoying everybody talking to you, calling you, texting you, then you have time where it gets really annoying and stressful. When I took it down to 10 schools, I was real excited but it was still a lot for me. Once I got it down to the final three, it took a lot of stress off my back and I felt like I could focus on what I needed and what I wanted to do. I’m grateful for all of it, it’s a blessing in itself, not a lot of people get to do this so I don’t take it for granted.”
Greenfield-Central head coach Luke Meredith has been a bit of the middle-man in the recruiting process, with his close relationship with Braylon as a player and Braylon’s dad, Josh, who is an assistant coach. He gets a lot of calls, texts daily as well as the rare question from one coach of, ‘Where can we land our private jet?’
Braylon said his coach has encouraged him to spend some time daily to write things down on what the likes and dislikes are of each program.
“I did a pros and cons sheet with him and try to be a springboard to him,” Meredith said.
So what’s it going to take? What’s the Cougar star looking for?
“I’m still learning about all the styles of play, how their systems would run through me, especially with my game and how I fit in,” Mullins said. “I want to play as a freshman and I know I am going to have to work for it, but I want to play. That’s my goal.
“Also the culture, those visits needed to be taken. I wanted to see how the environment was, how the people act, how the community acts, how the team acts, I definitely got to see a lot of that. Education is definitely important, you have to get your education. The relationship part is definitely the biggest and building that day-in and day-out. Those are probably the most important things I was looking for in those visits and I’m still continuing to look for as I make my decision.”
