UK, UCONN, UNC, OHIO STATE and KANSAS SETTING SIGHTS ON TEAMS FUTURE...... INTRODUCING NOAH VONLEH

As he competed Wednesday night during the Adidas Invitational Tournament, the coaches watching in plain sight included Final Four vets Bill Self of Kansas, Thad Matta of Ohio State, Ben Howland of UCLA and Jim Calhoun of Connecticut. North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Kentucky's Calipari sent assistants. Originally from Haverhill, Mass., a rising junior at New Hampshire’s New Hampton Prep, Vonleh is attractive to all of them not only because of his obvious and varied talents but also because his parents, as immigrants from Liberia, have no school allegiances and there’s no particular power to beat near his home base.

Vonleh told reporters, “Right now, I don’t have any schools that I’m favoring,” Vonleh said. “I’m just going to keep waiting until the end of the summer, and then I’ll probably cut down my list of schools. But right now, I’m open to everyone.”

Vonleh can play every position on the floor, certainly at this level and probably even in Division I. He began Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Celtics by setting up in the low post and ended it functioning as a point guard because “we were struggling, we weren’t making any shots, our guards weren’t getting to the basket. I had to try to step up and get some guys open.” Vonleh is working to develop a game similar to Kevin Durant’s. It’s a worthy goal, but Durant’s knack for scoring is preternatural. Pastore admits it’s more of an effort for Vonleh, although he is a capable shooter with a nice little jumphook into his left shoulder. On the other hand, Vonleh’s frame likely will accommodate far more power than Durant has managed and he’ll have a chance to be a more impactful defender. Most important is that Vonleh willingly plays inside even though he has perimeter skills, eagerly shares the ball even though he is the best player on his team and continues to work at expanding his game even though few his age have such an arsenal of skills.

“The bottom line with him: He’s going to play somewhere, some position, but it’s going to be on the court — no matter where he goes to play, Vonleh will be an impact player and probably the most skilled on his team," Pastore said.