Recommit to FSU Gives 'Noles No. 1 Class: Scouting Report
Naheem McLeod has been here before. The 7'3, 230-pound prospect was committed to Florida State basketball's 2019 recruiting class, but played last season at Chipola College, just a little west of Tallahassee in the panhandle.
But now McLeod is back in the fold, having recommitted to the Seminoles' 2021 class. McLeod, a three-star recruit from Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, joins four-star talents Matthew Cleveland, Bryce McGowens, and John Butler in FSU's '21 class, which has vaulted the 'Noles to the top class in the country.
Florida State already has one seven-footer on its roster, in sophomore Balsa Koprivica (7'1), and McLeod joining Butler, who committed just yesterday, means the Seminoles will boast at least a trio of seven-footers come 2021 (if you missed our exclusive interview with Butler, check it out-- and we've also got one with Cleveland).
But the 'Noles are getting very different players in Butler and McLeod. The former is a more versatile, positionless player, while the latter is a true center. But unlike a lot of big men, McLeod is a rather adept passer, but what I really like about his game is that he doesn't try to overthink things and be a player he's not. At 7'3, he's pretty much always going to be the tallest guy on the court, and he seems to understand that. A lot of big men get in trouble when they bring the ball below their shoulders, or, in the worst case scenario, put the ball on the floor, but McLeod is smart here-- he tends to receive entry passes up high, and he does well to keep the ball there and play to his size.
How Leonard Hamilton and Stan Jones mold an intriguing prospect like McLeod will be interesting to watch.
