According to Rafal Juc, a journalist covering Polish youth hoops, members of the Gonzaga coaching staff will be visiting Przemek Karnowski. Juc also reports that coaches from Cal will be in Poland to check in on Karnowski. Przemek has been on Gonzaga's radar for quite some time and Gonzaga has been considered the front-runner for his services should he decide to move to the states and play NCAA ball. Indications are that Karnowski will move to the states for the next phase of his basketball journey so we can now expect a number of collegiate programs to flock to Poland to see the 7-foot lefty big man.
Read on for more on Karnowski...
At this point, Karnowski has scholarship offers from Gonzaga, Cal, Utah, Cincinnati, and Washington State. We aren't aware if/when he will take any official visits to college campuses but there is no doubt he is a very sought after commodity. We have discussed him quite a bit on the site and the early read on him was that he was a project and would take at least a year in the states to make any sort of impact. Recent reports about Karnowski, however, seem to indicate that the big man is starting to grow up, lose some baby fat, and become a force. If that is the case, then it is clear to see why the Bulldogs are so interested.
The great Luke Winn of SI.com had this to say about Karnowski when he saw him in July at FIBA...
The hulking Polish left-hander says he's "50-50" on whether to go the prep school/college route in the U.S. or turn pro in Europe; if he comes to the NCAA, he has potential to be an excellent college post player and perhaps an NBA draft pick. Like Bhullar, he needs to shed additional weight, but Karnowski is in much better basketball shape, and flashes serious skills around the basket. His ability to pass out of double-teams is Kevin Love or Brad Miller-like, and he knows how to use his size to seal off defenders on the block.
One of the bigger positives for me about him is that he is noted as an outstanding passer. Gonzaga had a solid passing big man in JP Batista but, since then, the well has run a bit dry. Rob Sacre has been nice for the Zags but his passing and overall ball handling abilities have never been a strong point for the Canadian.
We hope to find out more about Karnowski and his recruitment and will keep everyone posted as this develops.