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Kelly Oubre: “UConn is coming at me the hardest”

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HAMPTON, Va. -- When playing on a team that includes Justise Winslow, Justin Jackson and Khadeem Lattin, getting noticed isn’t the easiest thing to do.

But through three games at the Nike EYBL Hampton, Kelly Oubre hasn’t had that problem. The athletic, 6-foot-6 wing is averaging 17.7 points, 8.7 boards and 2.7 assists while hitting 40% from beyond the arc.

It’s enough that Oubre has climbed to No. 27 in the latest Rivals top 150 and has gotten offers from “all the big schools”, including the likes of Georgetown, Arizona and UCLA. Kansas, Alabama, and Baylor are the schools that have made in-home visits.

There is one school, however, that has stood out for the Richmond, TX, native.

“UConn is coming at me the hardest,” Oubre said. “As of right now, I’m really starting to get serious into my recruiting process. And the more people call me, the more serious I’m going to start settling down and thinking about it.”

And what will you be thinking about?

“The atmosphere. The coaching staff. The fanbase. The offense, most definitely,” Oubre said. But perhaps most importantly, Oubre is looking for a program with a coaching staff that’s going to help to fulfill his potential.

“Whoever is going to push me to be the best that I can be and get me to where I want to go,” he said.

To do that, Oubre is going to have to work on his all-around game. Right now, the left-handed Oubre is best known for his athleticism and for his ability to shoot from the perimeter. But if he’s going to live up to the hype of being a top 30 player in the Class of 2014, he’s going to have to fill out the rest of his game, in particular his ball-handling.

“I can dribble up the court, I can do whatever my coach needs me to do, but I wanna be strong with it and keep getting stronger,” Oubre said.

Getting stronger off the bounce will help keep defenses honest, and with his size and athleticism, having the handle to beat a defender off the dribble should allow Oubre to get to the free throw line at will. As that part of his game develops, he’s only going to get better.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Oubre will always be a jump shooter first.

“That’s my game,” he said. “I feed off of that.”

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.