Arizona Basketball: Top ranked center Nathan Bittle schedules official visit
By David Rosen
Arizona Basketball continues to receive exciting recruiting news as one the best big men in the country, Nathan Bittle, will be scheduling an official visit.
Throw it down, big man! Those are words that you will hear when everyone’s favorite Bill Walton is commentating a Pac-12 game. The latest recruit to schedule an official visit Arizona, Class of 2021 recruit Nathan Bittle, can certainly throw it down with the best. He is the second big man recruit to have Arizona Basketball’s interest. Dawson Garcia is the other who has them in his Top 7.
Back in September of last year, the Wildcats made an official offer to Bittle and since then have met him in person. He apparently is impressed with the program enough to schedule an official visit, which is huge in this age of college basketball recruiting. It’s a very competitive landscape and to get a player to schedule an official says a lot.
Listed as a center at 6 foot 10 and 175 pounds, he has the size and athleticism to make an immediate impact. The one thing though Bittle will need to focus on as he gets closer to graduating is increasing his muscle mass. For his size, he needs to bulk up in order to compete at a high level against other big men in college.
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That being said, he plays like a modern-day center. Bittle can shoot the three, has good handles, able to drive and finish, has excellent court vision and can defend well.
It’s assumed someone of his size can block, but that isn’t always the case for centers. For Bittle, he seems to have a natural ability to get up and block shots at will. Coach Sean Miller loves seeing that type of defense from his players.
According to 247 Sports, he is the No.12 ranked player in the Class of 2021 and the No.1 player in the state of Oregon. That being said, Oregon is currently the favorite school according to 247 Sports Crystal Picks. Plus he has 10 other offers, including Arizona, and a majority of them are Pac-12 schools.
The one thing Arizona currently has going for them is that Bittle plays for the AAU team West Coast Elite, the same team that current incoming freshmen duo Nico Mannion and Josh Green had played on. Also, Kentucky transfer Jemarl Baker Jr. as well played for them.
Having three current Wildcats who’ve played for Bittle’s same AAU team, makes Arizona standout. These three Wildcats even came to watch him play and showed their support for their former AAU team.
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At Zona Zealots, we are excited for Nathan Bittle and his decision to schedule an official visit at Arizona. There has been a rich history of big men to have played for this program. Could Bittle be the next? Stay tuned to find out. As always, Bear Down Arizona!