By CHARLIE PARENT
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Koa Peat, the No. 4 player in the class of 2025 and son of former NFL star Todd Peat, dominated at Saturday’s HoopHall Classic in front of North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis. The 6-foot-8 Perry High School (AZ.) product dropped 23 points and 10 rebounds en route to a 64-63 win over Grayson High School (GA.).
“That was really cool,” Peat said postgame. “Coach Davis is a great guy, great program over there and I had a good time on my visit over there so to see him at my games means a lot.”
Along with the Tar Heels, the high-upside power forward recently dropped a top-10 list, including Texas, Michigan, Kentucky, Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, Baylor, Houston and Duke.
“Me and my family had a talk. We thought it was the right time because I’m in the season,” he explained.
Peat has taken official visits to Texas and Michigan with unofficials to Arizona and Arizona State.
While he doesn’t have any visits planned at this time, Peat said he “won’t leave any stones unturned.”
“I’m trying to get out there and see as many schools in my top-10 as I can,” he said. “The West Coast schools UCLA and then Baylor, Houston. The deciding factor will come down to who I trust the most.”
Peat broke down some of his options postgame:
North Carolina: “[They stressed] the history of North Carolina,” he concluded. “They would use me as a versatile wing, kind of like [Harrison] Ingram, and just how they liked each other, how the team just got along with each other was my biggest takeaway.”
Michigan: “Coach [Juwan] Howard is a good guy. The energy and the team like each other, and that’s really good.”
Texas: “Outside of basketball just the brand they have. They have a big brand in Texas so that was pretty cool. It’s been really good, Coach Rodney [Terry] is a great guy, and they’ve been talking to me since eighth grade.”
Arizona: “It was really cool. The atmosphere there was crazy with all the fans. Coach [Tommy Lloyd] is a good guy.”
Arizona State: “ASU is cool as well. Coach Bobby [Hurley] is a good guy. I went to a football game over there, too, because my brother [Keona Peat] plays for ASU.”
Peat has highlighted himself as a natural shot-blocker who projects as a versatile-wing/point forward at the next level.”
“I’ve been a really underrated shot blocker,” he said. “So just showing people that I could defend at the rim.”
“Every school said they would play me as a versatile wing, growing into that spot,” he concluded. “I thought today I showed that I could shoot the ball. I want to hone in on that and keep doing that.”
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