Rawle Alkins, a five-star combo guard, built a legendary resume last summer; dominating the adidas circuit (24.3 points per game), leading the NY RENS to the adidas title, helping the U.S. Select team go undefeated at the adidas EuroCamp in Treviso, Italy and winning MVP at both the prestigious adidas Nations showcase and the Pangos All-America Camp. Alkins, an Arizona signee, has agreed to give USA TODAY HSS exclusive access into his world by chronicling everything from intimate details about his recruitment to his everyday life in a blog.
What’s up Wildcat Nation!
I want to start out by saying that I’m excited and blessed to be a part of the family! I can’t wait!
Next year is gonna be a great year. We’ll have a lot of expectations, but I’m ready for the journey. With a young team like we’ll have next year there will definitely be ups and downs, but we have a lot of talent.
Our class is ranked No. 3 overall in the country and we’ve got great guys coming in!
We’ve got firepower from the outside, the inside, driving, everywhere!
T. Ferg was our latest commitment in the class and that was the last piece to the puzzle. He’s a guy that can knock it down as soon as he crosses halfcourt; just a great weapon to have.
With our team next year you’re not gonna be able to double team anyone, really. You’re gonna have to stop the whole team so good luck with that.
I definitely think that we have what it takes to cut all the nets down in any tournament.
I don’t want to be overconfident and guarantee anything, but with God’s help and hard work I think we can have a special season next year.
First things first, for the freshmen we’re gonna have a great summer and train hard. The key is getting into our college-ready bodies! I’m already on it too! I’ve lost about 20 pounds, but added a lot more muscle.
I’m definitely excited about working on chemistry too.
Can y’all imagine the competition in practice! Man, I love training with the best and going at it in practice against those guys is only gonna make us all better.
Next weekend I’ll be playing in the Capital Classic in D.C. and the following week I’ll be playing in the BallIsLife All-American Game, which is on CBS Sports. The next couple of weeks is all about having fun and giving back so definitely check me out in those two games.
I went to New York this past weekend to visit with my family and while I was there I signed my scholarship with Arizona! That was a great feeling!
While I was there I went and checked out some of the games in the Nike EYBL!
That’s a special league with a lot of great talent. I always played on the adidas circuit and that’s strong too, but seeing the EYBL up close was special.
My old AAU team, the NY RENS, are on the EYBL this year and we’re looking good!
I’m just gonna say the name Hamidou Diallo! That’s all I have to say.
I went to watch him and in the first few seconds he made his presence felt. That kid’s got next, no question!
I’m just happy that everything’s working out for the RENS and coach Andy Borman!
Oh I definitely want to give a shoutout to SLAM Magazine for featuring me! Y’all definitely need to go pick that one up; Drake, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozzan are on the cover and it’s a great write-up on page 77. I appreciate them having me and I consider it an honor.
While we’re at it, shoutout to USA Today for giving me the platform to talk to you guys in my own words. It’s an honor!
OK thanks again guys for reading my blog, make sure you check me out in these all star games that I’ve got coming up. I’ll be back soon to let you know how everything’s going.
Appreciate you guys’ support!
Don’t forget to follow Rawle Alkins
Twitter: @Iam_RawleAlkins
Instagram: @kingrawle
