College Hoops Recruiting: Which School Is the Best Fit for Kaleb Tarczewski?

Kaleb Tarczewski is a consensus top-five ranked recruit in the class of 2012. ESPN reports that the seven-footer will decide between, Kansas, Arizona and North Carolina in August.

However Kentucky Sports radio still thinks that John Calipari is still in with a chance and has been recruiting the center very hard behind the scenes.

If we took a step back and examine which of these schools is the best for this 5-star recruit in the loaded class of 2012 which school would come out on top?

The Arizona Star interviewed John Carroll, a former Boston Celtics assistant coach and head coach, and current coach of Tarczewski’s summer team and this is his evaluation of the coveted recruit.

“He runs the floor very well, finishes around the basket, and he’s got a very good jump hook that he’s developed through working hard,” Carroll said. “He is a very aggressive player in that he’s not afraid of contact and in fact likes contact, and does very well with it.”

If that’s the case then, playing with a decent point guard that can feed the post and shooters to give him space to operate in the paint will make his life easier.

Feeding the post in the NCAA is a lost art. If bigs want the ball they have to learn to drift to the perimeter and get a jump shot.

If indeed Tarczewski is a post-banger, he has to go to a team that will allow him to play to his strength.

Every coach has their respective system but ultimately its the type of personal will decide how well these plays will be executed.

Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky is an unknown factor as they have yet to have a player commit for the 2012 season and it is widely expected that there will be a mass exodus for the NBA.

Rising freshmen Miachael Kidd-Gilchrist, Anthony Davis and Marquis Teague are all widely viewed as one and done prospects.

If Tarczewski, does commit in August, he will more than likely be the first John Calipari commitment.

The thing is you have to figure that he will at least want to know the makeup of any Wildcats team.

Calipari does recruit very good players that match each other's skill set. John Wall with DeMarcus Cousins was a match made in heaven.

Same with the 2011 class,Teague, Kidd-GilChrist and Anthony Davis should have no problem playing together, though they probably were not expecting Terrence Jones to be there in the fall.

ESPN's Dana O'Neil recently did a survey asking a few coaches which coach they would most worry about in a late game situation, the general consensus was North Carolina great, Dean Smith, but Gerogia's Mark Fox said something interesting.

“It’s the guy with the best players. I don’t care what the play is.’’

South Carolina's Darrin Horn agreed with him. If this is the case, Tarczewski has nothing to worry about if he is the first commitment of John Calipari for next season because this coach always gets the best players and has proven that in his short tenure as Kentucky;s coach.

Shabaz Muhammed, the top-ranked player of next year's class, is leaning heavily towards Kentucky, according to KentuckySports.com, but the player says he is still "wide open."

Arizona Wildcats

The Arizona Wildcats are on the rise under Sean Miller. They are the Pac-10 regular season winners and made it to the Elite Eight of the NCAA torunament, where they lost to the eventual champions, UConn.

Miller has two 5-star guards enrolling for next season. ESPN ranks Josiah Turner as the No. 3 ranked point guard in 2011 class and Nick Johnson as the No. 5 ranked shooting guard.

If these two players are around by the time Tarczewski arrives, Arizona will be a very good team with a lot of perimeter players. A decent center will give them balance.

Josiah Turner did not make the McDonald's All-American team but he is talented nonetheless. That just goes to show that the 2011 class is a very deep talent pool point guard-wise, and he should be a revelation for Sean Miller.

Tarczewski has visited Arizona already.

“Coach (Sean) Miller is a great guy. I really like how he does things. He came to the school this year and I liked his energy. He’s really energetic and you get the feeling it is a place where you want to be. He’s a really good guy. So that is what really draws me there,” Tarczewski told the National Hoops Report.

That was back in the middle of June, by now he should know more about Sean Miller and his program.

Miller has two in-coming 4-star power forwards to implement next season as well, but they should not be a hindrance to Tarczewski signing.

Kansas JayHawks

Bill Self seems to be the front-runner for the services of Tarczewski, as the rising big man has visited Kansas four times already.

“I really like it out there. It’s kind of like a small town," he said. "It’s kind of like New Hampshire. I really like it. There’s a lot to like. I went to Kansas-Kansas State game. The atmosphere is just amazing. I really liked it.”

Kansas may have an edge but as Lorenzo Romar learned last summer, no recruit is safe until they have signed that national letter of intent. Terrence Jones was just about to sign his letter of Intent with Washington but after receiving a phone call he switched his allegiance to Kentucky.

If he needs to visit four times he is unsure any of the three schools he has visited is still in with a chance.

One thing Kansas has going for them is that they produce big men. A tradition by Roy Williams, and continued by Bill Self.

From Drew Gooden to the Morris Twins, Markief and Marcus, recent draft picks of Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets, respectively. Now they are in the time of Thomas Robinson and Jeff Whithey.

From his YouTube highlights, Tarczewski, brings to mind Cole Aldrich who had three good seasons at Kansas and is currently an Oklahoma City Thunder player.

Having a big man coach like Danny Manning is another bonus.

North Carolina

By the time Tarczewski is ready for college, Harrison Barnes will more than likely have left and so will senior, Tyler Zeller, through graduation. James McAdoo a 5-star, versatile forward and rising freshman is on most 2012 mock draft lists.

Zeller leaving will free up the center position for Tarczewski. This is the real selling point for Roy Williams.

Zeller, the co-leading scorer from last season gets good position and is a great post-player, surely any center would love to duplicate Zeller’s college career, barring the injuries.

Kendall Marshall a big selling point for North but will the point guard forego his junior year for the NBA? He probably was a four-year player until he replaced Larry Drew in the starting lineup, in January, then North Carolina went on an impressive run.

John Henson is seen as a late first round or early second-round pick, there is a good chance he may be back for his senior year and sneak into the lottery for the 2013 daft.

Henson forms a great partnership with Zeller so would not be a hindrance to any incoming center.