U of L to visit Dozier next week

South Carolina guard P.J. Dozier - the University of Louisville's No. 1 recruiting target after the withdrawn commitment of Antonio Blakeney - will host the Cardinals' coaches for a home visit next Wednesday, his dad said Thursday.

It's a good sign for the Cardinals as they resume their pursuit of Dozier, who's rated five stars and the nation's No. 23 prospect by 247Sports.com. He was a top U of L target and planned to officially visit Louisville before the Cards accepted a commitment from Blakeney, who plays the same position as Dozier, on Sept. 4.

Blakeney pulled his pledge on Monday night, and now the Cards have made Dozier their prime focus to fill the last spot in their class.

Perry Dozier Sr. spoke with U of L assistant Kenny Johnson, and his son spoke with head coach Rick Pitino.

"I talked to Coach Kenny, and they just want to come down and sit down and talk and start the process over again," said the elder Dozier, who coaches his son at Spring Valley High School in Columbia. "We wouldn't have them come in if (P.J.) wasn't (interested)."

Johnson has known the Doziers for years and recruited him while he was on the staff at Indiana University before he was hired by Louisville this spring.

Dozier, who at 6 feet 5 can play on the point or off the ball, plans to officially visit Michigan on Sept. 26, North Carolina on Oct. 3 (the date initially planned for a U of L trip), Georgetown on Oct. 17 and South Carolina on Oct. 24. Coaches from all those teams, plus ones from Maryland, have conducted home visits with Dozier.

Perry Dozier Sr. said on Tuesday that it will be up to his son to determine if he wants to reschedule a visit to Louisville, but there are no hard feelings about U of L having taken Blakeney's commitment, and Perry Dozier Sr. said he understands that's what was best for U of L at the time.

North Carolina has been seen as a team to beat for Dozier and is the prediction of 19 of 24 members of the media on Dozier's 247Sports Crystal Ball, but his dad, who played at South Carolina, said his son has no favorite in his recruitment.

"He said, 'Dad, until I go on my visits, that's the only way I'll know if it's a fit for me,'" Dozier Sr. said on Tuesday. "... People can predict all day, but there would be a lot of people winning the lottery if they knew what they were talking about, right? North Carolina has done a great job, but again, we haven't taken an official visit there. At one time, people said it would be South Carolina because he would be at home. Now people are saying it's going to Georgetown because it's close to my home (of Baltimore). There's a lot of projections and predictions, and people can do that all they want. But I do know this - that P.J. is going through the process the correct way. I'll be glad when it's over with, but however long it takes to make the decision, I don't want him to look back after he makes it."

Perry Dozier Sr. and his twin, Terry, played for the Gamecocks in the late 1980s, and P.J.'s sister, Asia, plays for the South Carolina women's team. Would Perry Sr. like for his son to follow in his footsteps and play at his alma mater?

"Man, let me tell you something; I don't care if he goes all the way to the West Coast, it doesn't make a difference," he said. " I just want him to go for the best place for him that's going to allow him to do what he wants to do and help him get where he wants to get to. ... If he chooses to go to the West Coast or the Midwest or the South or wherever he decides, we can always get in an airplane or a car and go there."

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