Wendell Carter isn't your typical superstar basketball prospect. This is a player who skipped the first weekend of AAU to act in a school play and a student who boasts a 3.8 GPA.
As the No. 3 senior in the country, Carter has rarely followed a conventional path. That's part of the reason why he has perhaps the most compelling recruitment in the class of 2017. This weekend, Carter will take his first official visit when he travels to Harvard. That's right, Harvard. It appears the Crimson have a real chance of landing him.
"That would really be a game changer," Carter said of a potential commitment to Harvard in May. "That would be doing something that most athletes don't normally do."
Duke has been considered the favorite for Carter from the start. The Blue Devils currently have 100 percent of the predictions in 247 Sports' Crystal Ball. It would be completely unprecedented for an expected one-and-done caliber recruit to chose an Ivy League school, but Carter just might be the type of person to break the mold.
Tommy Amaker is already recruiting at a far higher level than anyone thought possible at a school like Harvard. The Crimson have the No. 24 recruiting class in the country for 2016, a seven-man group headlined by two top-100 players in point guard Bryce Aiken and power forward Chris Lewis.
Getting Carter would take Harvard's progress on the recruiting trail to an entirely new level. With DeAndre Ayton committing to Arizona and Michael Porter Jr. pledging to Washington, Carter is currently the top uncommitted recruit in America. He's a 6'9 big man with a strong 250-pound frame whose polished offensive game has drawn comparisons to Al Horford. Early 2018 NBA mock drafts have him projected as a top-five pick.
This will be the first season the Ivy League has a conference tournament -- previously, the league's regular season winner was given an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Amaker had great success under the old format, making four straight NCAA tournaments before finishing just 14-16 last season with a young roster. Harvard won an NCAA Tournament game in 2013 and 2014, upsetting third-seeded New Mexico and then fifth-seeded Cincinnati. Yale's victory over Baylor this past March was more proof the Ivy League can hang with major conference programs.
Carter's talent is so apparent that his pro prospects won't be impacted by where he chooses to go to college. NBA scouts will be able to watch him at practices for the McDonald's All-American Game and Nike Hoops Summit. As a top-five recruit and gold medalist with USA Basketball, he already carries a name brand before he ever begins his senior season at Pace Academy in Atlanta.
At Duke, Carter would have the opportunity to win a national championship surrounded by fellow blue chip recruits. At Harvard, he could blaze a new trail for elite basketball talents. This is only the beginning of Wendell Carter's story. He's already keeping basketball fans on their toes.