Houston’s Applewhite talks about new offers
Houston guard Alden Applewhite picked up offers from St. John’s and Iowa State this week and said Virginia Tech reached out to him.
He had taken conference calls with St. John’s and Ole Miss and is scheduled for a call with Iowa State on Thursday.
He said Iowa State has been recruiting him for awhile but recently decided to make the offer. He said the Cyclones came to see him and Woodale’s Johnathan Lawson last summer when they were playing AAU together.
“They’ve been telling me about the conference they play in and how exciting and competitive it is,” Applewhite said. “They came to a few of my games last summer and they came to Memphis to see me my 10th-grade year. They’ve been talking with me and telling me how I would fit into their system. They also pitched that I won’t be out there alone and would have a teammate from Memphis (transfer Tyler Harris) with me.”
Applewhite said that St. John’s just started recruiting him a couple of weeks ago and have been pitching him on the experience of playing at Madison Square Garden.
“They were telling me about their style of play and the experience of playing at Madison Square Garden and being in New York,” Applewhite said. “Just how they get up and down and play in transition. They really give their players the freedom to make the decisions for themselves.”
The 6-foot-6 junior is the No. 6 prospect in the state for the Class of 2021 according to the 247Sports Composite. He also has offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi State, TCU and Texas A&M and Xavier.
He said he doesn’t know when he’ll narrow his list down. He hasn’t taken any official visits yet but has taken unofficial visits to Ole Miss, Mississippi State and TCU.
“I want to wait for all this (COVID-19) to clear up and take a few officials to like three or four schools I’m really looking at and then make a decision after that. I don’t really know what that’s going to look like timing-wise though,” he said.
Applewhite said he visited Mississippi State a number of times to see his older brother Dre Applewhite play when he was there.
“They’re slowly getting better and they had a few players go pro this year. (Assistant) coach Korey (Mccray) and that coaching staff, I’m real close with them,” Applewhite said. “He talks to me every other day. They’ve been rising up in the SEC and I like to see that.”
Ole Miss has been recruiting Applewhite since his freshman year. Coach Kermit Davis came to see Applewhite play in one of Houston’s playoff games this season.
“Ole Miss was the first school that offered me and they’ve been recruiting me ever since,” Applewhite said. “I’ve been
to a few games. It gets real loud in there. They really play fast and they give their guards tons of freedom. If you can play, that benefits you.”
TCU and Texas A&M have also been keeping in touch with the three-star guard.
“As far as TCU, just the connection that I have with (assistant) Coach Ryan (Miller),” he said. “He’s been talking to me for awhile now and checking in on my family and telling me how I’ll fit in. Texas A&M also plays a good style of ball. Their coach called me this year and offered me.”
This year was Applewhite’s first season at Houston after transferring from Lausanne. He averaged 15.5 points and 4.7 rebounds and was named district MVP. He led the Mustangs to their first state tournament appearance since the school opened in 1989, but the tournament was never played due to COVID-19.
“I feel like I took off a little bit and playing with the great team that I had and the great coaching staff made it easy. It was fun. I hate that it ended the way it ended, but it was a great overall run we had,” Applewhite said.
Applewhite said he plans to play on the Nike EYBL circuit with Team Thad this summer and is looking forward to showcasing his game in front of more college coaches.
“We were supposed to have had our first session by now,” he said. “That really hurt. We were supposed to have AAU and have finished our high school season. I’m slowly getting over it.”
For now, he’s working on his conditioning and his shooting touch and looking forward to getting back into a gym.
“I’m doing conditioning in my neighborhood and I have a goal at home so I shoot on that. Now that the gyms are back open I’ll go to a gym and work out,” he said.