Layden Blocker thinks that he knows but he wants to know that he knows.
A week after taking an official visit to Arkansas, the 6-foot-2 point guard has dialed back communication with his main contenders—Arkansas, Maryland, Kansas and Kansas State—as he engages in intense discussions with his family weighing the pros and cons of each school.
Blocker, a rising senior, set a decision date for July 2, his birthday, but the more he ponders life at the next level, the more the revelation of where that will take place becomes clearer.
“I feel like I know where I want to go,” Blocker says. “I’ve taken all of my visits and I’ve just been weighing things out with all of the information I got from the visits. I don’t know, I could decide sooner than July 2. We’ll see. It’s a tough process.”
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The ultimate decision gets even more arduous when you consider that each school has the same “ball in your hands” master plan for Blocker.
“To hear these coaches trust me to that level just shows me what hard work can do,” Blocker says. “As a point guard that’s definitely something you want to hear.”
Smart plan for a player who’s made a legitimate claim at being the country’s top point guard with his play this spring.
SI99 player rankings for 2023 don’t drop until later in the year, but Blocker has the resume to command top 25 status at this point.
Blocker is dominating the Nike EYBL, the most grueling shoe circuit in the country, pumping in 17.7 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for Brad Beal Elite (Mo.). He’s shooting 50% from the field and 40% from the three-point line.
This past season, despite playing with two SI All-Americans, Blocker averaged nine points, 1.3 steals, 3.7 rebounds and posted a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio for Sunrise Christian Academy (Belair, Kan.), which held down the top spot in the SB Live/SI Power 25 for most of the season.
“I definitely came into the spring with something to prove,” Blocker says. “At Sunrise I’m in a system and I was playing with two All-Americans, so I just played my role. In the spring it’s different, this is when I show all the different parts of my game.”
Blocker’s defining moment this spring came last month in a win over NJ Scholars and its star point guard DJ Wagner.
Blocker posted 27 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in the head-to-head matchup with Wagner, who is widely regarded as the top prospect in the 2023 class.
“I just wanted to show people that, if he’s the top player in the country, I’m not too far away,” Blocker says. “I don’t get too caught up into it though because people will always have their own opinion. I just do my part and produce. That’s the part that I can control.”
It’s not as cut and dry when it comes to his decision; though as he reflects on his visits and countless talks with each school’s coaching staff, Blocker grows more convinced that he “may not” make it to his birthday.
“The thing that really stood out to me on the visits were the presentations,” Blocker says. “Like on my Arkansas visit the presentation was really in depth. It was the same at Maryland and Kansas State. The staffs definitely did their part. I’m having constant talks with my family pretty much every day, so it’s moving along. The plan right now is July 2, but, like I said, it could be sooner.”
