It has been more than five years since Skal Labissiere, his mother, and little brother, were buried under the rubble of their home that collapsed during the 2010 earthquake that shook Haiti.
In just five years, he has gone from a virtual unknown in the college basketball world to one of the best, if not the best, recruits in the country. Fittingly, he followed the trend of high-profile prospects to sign with John Calipari, and will play his college basketball at Kentucky. In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, Labissiere explained his reasoning for choosing UK:
“I always wanted to go to Kentucky,” Labissiere said. “I saw [coach John Calipari’s] track record. He gets [you] ready physically and mentally for the next level, and that’s what I want to be a part of, playing against guys who are really good every single day.”
As the nation’s second-ranked recruit, Labissiere is up next in our “Introducing” feature.
Name: Skal Labissiere
Height: 7’0
Position: Center
Ranking: Five-star, No. 2 overall
Strengths: The first thing that jumps out when watching Labissiere play is his fluidity on the court. For such a tall and long body, he has excellent body control and balance at nearly all times on the court. He can rotate defensively, close out to shooters, block shots, and get to his spots offensively. His effectiveness shooting the ball is also a major weapon
Areas to Improve: Obviously, he has a long way to go in developing his body, particularly wen discussing his certain future in the NBA. Right now, he’s not built to take on more physically mature players in the post, and could be at risk to give up offensive rebounds to juniors and seniors willing to play a more physical style.
Watch The Video Above For More Insight
