Trinity's Spalding commits to Louisville

Raymond Spalding will be staying home for college.

The four-star Trinity High School power forward committed to play for the University of Louisville on Sunday - the team he grew up cheering for.

"It's a blessing and a dream come true," Spalding told The Courier-Journal. "For a humble kid like me coming from Louisville, to be able to say I could play at the university some day, it's an honor."

The 6-foot-10, 206-pound Spalding, the nation's No. 66 prospect by Scout.com and a top candidate for 2015 Mr. Basketball honors, said Saturday that he was getting close to a decision and favoring the Cards. After arriving home from a tournament in Georgia with his travel team, The Ville, Spalding and his parents decided there was no reason to wait any longer.

Spalding had not spoken to U of L head coach Rick Pitino as of early Sunday afternoon, but he called assistant Kenny Johnson to deliver the news. Johnson, who recruited Spalding while on the staff at Indiana, didn't answer the first time Spalding called, so he left him a message that he had chosen the Cards.

An excited Johnson called right back and "said I couldn't leave news like that on a voicemail," Spalding said. "He was amped. He was glad I made the decision."

Spalding is U of L's second commitment in the 2015 class, picking the Cards six days after five-star wing Deng Adel of Bradenton, Fla., did. Both players visited U of L on the same day last month. That's also the day Spalding received an offer from Pitino, and afterward the Cards immediately went to the lead in his recruitment.

"I think once Louisville offered it was a foregone conclusion that he would end up there," Scout.com analyst Evan Daniels said. "I think that's the school he always had marked as where he wanted to go, and they did a great job recruiting him."

Trinity coach Mike Szabo said Spalding felt great about his decision when they spoke on Sunday.

"To have the opportunity to play for one of the finest coaches in the world (in Pitino) is a blessing, and to be able to share that with his family and friends in his hometown is special," Szabo said. "He has made great progress as a player and a student, and to see his hard work paying off makes me very proud of him. Ray is a special talent, but he's an even better person. Everyone in the Trinity basketball family is happy for him."

U of L fans around town won't have to wait long for an opportunity to watch Spalding play. The Ville will be competing this week in the AAU Super Showcase at the Kentucky Exposition Center, with the team's first game at 9:20 a.m. on Thursday.

The Ville coach David Levitch Sr., who's had Spalding in his program for all but two years since he was in the fourth grade, said it's a special day to see Spalding succeed and land at the hometown school. He said Spalding has steadily improved every year since he was in elementary school.

"I'm really happy for him and his family," said Levitch, whose son David Jr. is a walk-on basketball player at U of L. "I know it had a big part to do with it with him being able to stay here and have his family watch him play. It's a good feeling to keep a kid from Louisville in Louisville and keep one in the state."

An explosive player at both ends of the floor and one who can play way above the rim, Spalding averaged 13.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks last season in leading Trinity to the state semifinals.

"I think he's a tremendous talent," said Daniels, who thinks Spalding is due to move up on his site's rankings. "He has a lot of upside. He's just scratching the surface for what he could be. ... At 6-10, he's really mobile, runs the floor and has great hands and really good touch around the basket. He can even face up and make jump shots. With his length, he can get to shots as well on the defensive end.

"The next step for him is getting a little more consistent and getting stronger, and that'll come in time."

U of L has multiple young big men on its current roster, but Spalding thinks he can carve a niche with his ability to play occasionally on the perimeter.

"With my style of play, I can step in and be a big, but I can step out and play inside and out," he said. "Both Coach Johnson and Coach Pitino said that with my length and athleticism I can cause a lot of trouble on defense and offense."

Spalding chose U of L over Indiana, Xavier, Clemson, Tennessee and several others. Duke had begun to recruit him this month, and Kentucky expressed interest last season.

Pitino presciently said two weeks ago that the Cards would start picking up commitments this month, and with Adel, who's No. 18 by Scout, and Spalding deciding in a week's span, U of L is well on its way with the 2015 class. The Cards presumably will seek to add one or two guards next from target list of about a half-dozen players.

"it's certainly a great start when you can get a five-star guy and another guy who's soon to be in the top 50," Daniels said. "That's about as good as it gets. I'm sure the Louisville coaches are thrilled about their 2015 class, but I don't think they're done. They're in on some other really good guys."

Steve Jones can be reached at (502) 582-7176 and followed on Twitter at @SteveJones_CJ.