For some guys, five official visits is the standard by which they’ll judge schools on their list. With Brandon Costner, a 6-8 forward out of Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey, official visits are reserved for places he can’t drive to.
Costner is interested in a lot of programs and he’ll use his official visits to see the ones furthest from his residence. Enter UCLA.
The big man is heading to Westwood the weekend of May 20 for his first trip.
“I haven’t scheduled any others yet but I probably will,” Costner said. “I’ll go to schools that are farthest away from me officially like Kansas, Indiana and Michigan. I’d probably just visit like a UConn unofficially instead of wasting an official.”
After his team lost in the finals of the Southern Invitational, Costner stayed in Charlottesville an extra day so he could visit Virginia unofficially.
“I’m still wide open. Nobody is in the lead or anything.” In the mix are Florida, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Seton Hall, Indiana, Michigan, UCLA, Connecticut and Kansas. All but UNC have offered and he feels like N.C. State and Kansas are pursuing him the hardest.
Unlike most kids, Costner never really developed any affiliation with a college team as he was growing up. “Just that since I grew up overseas I never idolized or wanted to go to a certain college. I never had a chance to be that way. I don’t know what to do; I just want to go through the process so I don’t make a mistake.”
Costner’s father played over 10 seasons overseas and the family lived in Italy, France, Spain and Greece.