Eric Katenda to visit Iowa next weekend
Fran McCaffery was the coach at Siena when he first started recruiting forward Eric Katenda more than a year ago.
McCaffery has continued to aggressively recruit the 6-foot-9 Katenda since leaving Siena to take the Iowa job last March.
Katenda now will show his appreciation by visiting Iowa next weekend.
“He was recruited by them there at Siena and he’s decided to stay with them because they were good to him and faithful to him all the way through,” Katenda’s prep school coach, Kyle Lindsted, said Thursday.
Katenda, who attends Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas, but used to live in Connecticut, has narrowed his list to Iowa, Wake Forest and Notre Dame.
He visited Wake Forest last weekend and will visit Notre Dame a week after visiting Iowa.
Katenda recently told a recruiting web site that Wake Forest was his leader, but Lindsted said don’t read too much into that.
“Just understand we’re dealing with 18-year olds,” Lindsted said. “He said that, but honestly, he’s been on one visit.
“I told (him) that’s how it’s going to be. Whatever visit you come back from, that’s going to be your favorite.”
Lindsted said Katenda is sticking to his three schools even though other high-profile colleges reportedly are trying to get involved with him.
Georgia Tech used to be on Katenda’s list, but that changed when Paul Hewitt recently was fired as the Georgia Tech coach and replaced by former Dayton coach Brian Gregory.
“Trust me, he’s got basketball bluebloods interested in him, but he’s going to stay faithful to those that were recruiting him from the very beginning and see where it goes,” Lindsted said. “If he were to open his recruitment up, I have no doubt he could go probably anywhere he wanted to.”
“He just feels loyalty is important. Georgia Tech was one of the schools, but they have a new coach so they’re not going to be involved.”
Lindsted said the fact that Iowa is in a rebuilding stage and coming off an 11-20 record in McCaffery’s first season is a concern to Katenda, but not enough to eliminate the Hawkeyes without taking a visit.
Wake Forest is also coming off a losing season, whereas Notre Dame finished among the top teams in the Big East Conference this season.
“You can look at that as, ‘hey, I can go there and get on the floor right away and do some things, or you can look at it as, ‘bummer we’re not at the top,’” Lindsted said of Iowa’s situation. “He’s got four years to get to the top and I think he’s a good enough player to get to the top.
“And I think in four years he can definitely help a program get there.”
Katenda will be the second player from Sunrise Christian Academy to recently visit Iowa.
Gabe Olaseni, a 6-10 center, visited Iowa City last weekend.
Katenda and Olaseni have talked about playing together in college, but Lindsted said he doesn’t think it will influence their decision.
“They’re great friends and they’ll still be friends,” Lindsted said. “I think they’d love to go somewhere together, don’t get me wrong. I think they would. But I don’t think that would be a factor at all.”
Olaseni was expected to visit Mississippi, but his plans have changed, according to Lindsted.
“Ole Miss has had some personnel changes as far as players and coaches, so I think he’s going to look at some other schools,” Lindsted said.
The other schools, according to Lindsted, are Oklahoma, Memphis and Nebraska.
Lindsted said Olaseni wants wait to see how the Oklahoma coaching situation unfolds. Former Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel offered Olaseni a scholarship a while back, but Capel also recently was fired.
“He was pretty excited about OU and then they upped and left,” Lindsted said. “I think if they could get a coach there, we’ll establish some contacts and see if they’re interested.
“I’m sure they probably will be. So that might be something that potentially happens.”
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball
