EYBL 17U Session IV | 2018 Nike EYBL (Hampton)

Nike Team Florida PG Kyle Sturdivant On Peach Jam, Recruitment Taking Off

Nike Team Florida PG Kyle Sturdivant On Peach Jam, Recruitment Taking Off

Point guard Kyle Sturdivant is in an enviable position, dishing the ball to some of the top players in the country. But he's a player in his own right.

May 17, 2018 by Adam Zagoria
Nike Team Florida PG Kyle Sturdivant On Peach Jam, Recruitment Taking Off

As the point guard for Nike Team Florida, Kyle Sturdivant is in a pretty enviable position.

He gets to distribute the ball to guys like Vernon Carey Jr. and Scottie Barnes, two of the top players in the country. The 6-foot-9 Carey is being courted by schools like Duke, Miami, Michigan State, and Kentucky, while the 6-5 Barnes is being pursued by Kentucky, Miami, Syracuse, Villanova, Kansas, and Louisville.

"They make the game a lot easier for me as a point guard," the 6-3, 180-pound class of 2019 floor general out of Norcross (GA) High School said by phone this week. "It's preparing me for the next level."

Watch EYBL Session IV LIVE on FloHoops!

Sturdivant has seen his own recruitment take off recently as Nike Team Florida is 6-6 heading into the final EYBL session in Hampton, VA, May 26-27. USC, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Stanford, and Rutgers have all been involved.

"There are like eight or nine schools that I feel are making me a priority," he said, adding he plans to cut his list "after July." Peach Jam runs July 11-15.

Sturdivant broke down several schools for FloHoops:

Florida

"I'm going to go visit them in June, but they're just telling me that I can go in and play right away and contribute."

Rutgers

"Rutgers has been on me really hard as well. They were my first in-home visit and they told me I could have the ball in my hands from Day One as well." (Rutgers on Wednesday landed a pledge from fellow class of 2019 point guard Paul Mulcahy.)

Georgia Tech

"Being a hometown guy, being a leader, I could come in and be a fit basketball-wise and student-athlete-wise because I have pretty good grades."

Georgia

"Tom Crean, he's really into detail and he just tells me the little things he can help me with my game that I'm really impressed with, for a guy that's just meeting me, which I'm really impressed with."

USC

"They feel like I play their playing style. I get up and down, I play well. My game is up and down."

Ohio State

"They like my maturity, they feel I can come in from day one and be a leader and run the team and help them get back to when Ohio State was a powerhouse in both sports [with football]."

Clemson

"They’ve been recruiting me from the start and they said I can come in and lead from Day One."

Wherever he goes, he plans to be a facilitator and scorer.

"I'm creating for others, controlling the tempo," he said. "When I'm really at my best, I'm doing that and we're winning."

Looking ahead, Sturdivant wants to close out the EYBL regular season strong in Hampton and then pursue a Peach Jam championship. Carey and Barnes have been bothered by injuries but when healthy, Sturdivant believes they're the best team.

"Oh most definitely," he said. "First session was the first time we really played together as a team and we went 3-1."

He added: "We just have to get healthy. Everybody's just gotta play together but I feel like we're going to be really good."


Adam Zagoria is a basketball insider who runs ZAGSBLOG.com and contributes to The New York Times. Follow Adam on Twitter.