He's met the coaches. He's taken the official visits. And now, the nation's top high school playmaker will make his college decision. 6-foot-6 point guard Shaun Livingston told The Chronicle Tuesday night that he expects to announce his plans sometime next week.
"I think that next Tuesday or Wednesday he'll tell me where he's going," Livingston's coach Chuck Buescher said, adding that "he's going to decide before November 12."
Livingston mentioned that he had yet to sit down and discuss his college future with his family and coach. Duke, Arizona and Illinois are all in the running for the talented Peoria, Illinois native, and it is no secret that Livingston is at the top of basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski's recruiting wish list.
"[Krzyzewski] saw me doing some things that were real special, that not a lot of people have been doing," Livingston said. "He thought that maybe I could be one of the most exciting players ever to play at Cameron."
The gifted floor general enjoyed his visits to all three schools. "I really appreciate all the time they put into the visits," Livingston said. "Some of them were kind of like I expected, some of them exceeded it."
Livingston later clarified that Illinois and Arizona had both exceeded his expectations.
"[With] Illinois, it's the home state area and everyone gets to watch you play," Livingston said. "I've got some friends that go there, too," referring more specifically to freshmen Brian Randle and Richard McBride, two former AAU teammates, and star point guard Dee Brown.
"[With] Arizona, I liked the style of play, up and down the court," Livingston said. He also cited friendships with Arizona commitment Jawann McClellan and current Wildcat- and Illinois-native-Andre Iguodala.
Don't count out the Blue Devils, though. Livingston had high praise for Krzyzewski and many current Duke players.
"At Duke, I had a pretty good relationship with Coach K," Livingston said. "Luol [Deng] was my host and we got along fine. Sean Dockery was real cool... we hung out a lot on my visit."
The star point guard also mentioned that current Duke shooting guard Daniel Ewing may be one of the toughest defenders he's ever played.
"Daniel Ewing played really well defensively," Livingston mentioned.
"He wouldn't really let me do what I wanted to on the court." It is widely believed that Livingston, who is the consensus No. 2 prep player in the nation, will attend college. However, early entry to the NBA draft is still not an impossibility for the rising star.
"He's not thinking about the NBA [right now]," Buescher said. "I think Shaun wants to go to college, I think Shaun plans to go to college, but I don't think it's as cut and dry as [he's eliminated the NBA]."
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