“It’s been kind of crazy,” he said with a chuckle. “A lot of schools have been interested in me and it’s really picked up.”
As a result, Uthoff has garnered up 10 offers and is hearing from a number of other schools. Among the junior’s offers, Albany, Arizona State, Butler, Creighton, Illinois, Indiana, Indiana State, Iowa State and Northern Iowa are some of the more notable ones.
Additionally, Notre Dame has been inquiring about Uthoff lately. It all started last week at an open gym at Jefferson High School by Uthoff’s head coach, Syuart Ordman.
“A week or so ago, they came to an open gym of mine, that my high-school coach held,” Uthoff said. “They came to that and Coach [Martin] Ingelsby saw me play. And then I came up on a visit — I tried to visit four colleges on my way up here — so we decided to stop by Notre Dame to visit its campus.”
Upon arriving in South Bend, Uthoff was impressed with the Notre Dame campus.
“The campus is great,” he said. “It’s really nice.”
After the open gym, Ingelsby has been in contact with Uthoff and helped set up the recent visit. While the junior was at Notre Dame, he met with a number of the Irish assistants in an attempt to familiarize himself with the program.
“He seems like a great guy,” Uthoff said of Ingelsby. “I haven’t talked to him that much, but when I have, he seemed like a really good guy. I met the coaching staff, but I didn’t get to meet the players.”
Although Notre Dame has not extended a scholarship, one could be coming in the summer months. For that to happen, head coach Mike Brey wants to take a closer look at Uthoff’s style of play.
“The coaches said they were going to see me in July,” Uthoff said. “He wants to see me play in July.”
Since the junior’s recruitment has picked up recently, Uthoff is still assessing all of the programs and does not yet have a list of favorites.
“I’ve just been taking it as it goes,” Uthoff said. “I’m not really sure at this point.”
In any case, the power forward has specific criteria he uses to evaluate programs.
“The coaching staff, the players themselves that I will be playing with, education, the facilities and stuff like that,” Uthoff said when asked what he looked for in potential programs.
Since Uthoff is just starting to become a player to watch in the Midwest, not many people are familiar with his style of play. For those who haven’t had a chance to see his style, Uthoff provided a brief summary.
“A versatile big that can post up,” he said. “I can shoot, I can drive, I can post up. I’m very versatile.”
Although Uthoff’s recruitment has picked up recently, the junior isn’t looking to end it soon. He’s waiting to see what other offers come in. As a result, there is no timetable for a decision.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I might take a couple of more visits. I’m not really sure at this point.”
