Arizona basketball recruiting: Wildcats 'focused' on getting five-star Ike Obiagu on campus

After offering Obiagu last week, Sean Miller and the staff are coming after the shot blocker with all they've got.

Ikechukwu Obiagu, a 7-foot, 230 pound center out of Decatur, Georgia, is arguably the best shot blocker in the entire country, even being compared to four-time NBA  Defensive Player of the Year Dikembe Mutombo.

On May 5^th, Obiagu was offered a scholarship by Sean Miller; adding to a long list of schools that are vying for his rim-protecting abilities.

On Monday, he and I spoke shortly about the recruiting process and his U of A offer.

While he said the first time Miller and he talked was when he received the offer, Arizona's top assistant has been in Obiagu's ear for a while.

"Coach Pasternack has been recruiting me for a while though before the offer," the prospect explained. "Since then, we have been in touch and they are recruiting me hard right now. Trying to set up a visit soon."

Overall, Obiagu, who enjoys video games, movies, and books outside of basketball, has said the recruiting process has been "exciting". When you have coaches from the top programs in the nation reaching out to you, I think ‘exciting' is a pretty good description.

As for what schools are interested in him right now he said: "Baylor, California, Louisville, NC State, Georgetown, Maryland, Long Beach State, Connecticut and some more."

Scouts' Evan Daniels wrote last August Obiagu had over 20 in total, spanning all corners of the country. His most recent visit came at the end of April when he visited Baylor University.

Aside from shot blocking (he averaged 6.8 bpg last season), he said rebounding was another one of his strengths (averaged 7.8 last season). On offense, however, is where he will be putting in the work this summer.

"Taking my offense one step at a time," he said of what he'll be trying to improve this summer. "Working on my jump hook and post-moves right now plus finishing with both hands."

According to his MaxPreps page, the tall, long-armed center averaged 8.1 points per game. If he is able to pair his ridiculous defensive ability with a solid back-to-the-basket game, he could become one of the most dominant players in the 2017 class.

While Sean Miller and the coaching staff haven't talked about how he would be used in the system yet, he reiterated how much the coaches want him to see Tucson.

"Right now, they're focused on getting me down for a visit."

If there's anything Wildcat fans know about Sean Miller, it's once he puts on the full-court press, it's hard to say no to the University of Arizona.

You can follow Alec on Twitter for the latest in Arizona Wildcats basketball recruiting: @UofAlec

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