Top-150 SF AJ Swinton breaks down Georgetown, VCU, Vanderbilt, and more with his recruitment

AJ Swinton is the No. 110 player in the 2024 On3 150. The 6-foot-5 wing recently announced he would be transferring to Arlington (VA) Bishop O’Connell, where he played during both recent DMV Live Scholastic Evaluation Periods.

“I’m playing with a high basketball IQ,” Swinton told On3. “I’m showing I can be a leader, going into my senior year, and I’m handling the ball a little bit more. I think my toughness and energy are showing strong. I watch a lot of younger Lonzo Ball and the way he defends everyone on the perimeter and then DeMar DeRozan and his mid-range game; I think the mid-range is a lost art.”

Swinton recently de-committed from Virginia Tech and opened things back up. On3 caught up with AJ Swinton recently to get an update on his recruitment.

Swinton talks Virginia Tech

“I thought it was best for me and my family to take a step back and look at things,” Swinton said. “Coach (Mike) Young, Coach (Christian) Webster, and Coach (Kevin) Giltner are all great guys. But my relationship was with Coach Mike Jones; he was a big reason why I felt comfortable there and committed there in the first place.

“I still like them a lot, and they are still an option for me. But when Coach Jones left, I needed to take a step back and look at my options.”

Swinton talks recruitment

“I’m talking with Georgetown and Boston College about visits,” Swinton said. “VCU and Vanderbilt too.”

Georgetown: “It’s a stay at home and do big things type of recruitment. It’s literally like ten minutes from me. Their coaching staff is great, they have experience, and they’ve won. They have a great recruiting class coming in, and it is an excellent campus. They’re telling me how great of it fit it would be. The NIL would be in place, and my family would get to come to watch all my home games and even a lot of the away games.

“They see me as a two-three. Able to initiate the offense some and being able to guard bigger wings and forwards with my length.”

VCU: “You know, they’re pretty close to home. They like me to be more than just a three-and-D player and want to me to come into their system and be able to catch it on the wing and rip through. They like to have guys on the floor who can grab the rebound and bring it up. The coaches like my IQ of being able to get them into sets.”

Boston College: “It’s a family thing there. It’s a fit for me. They love how I can defend multiple positions, they think I can do a lot of things, which is how they like to play. The coaches like my ability to lead, be a weak-side shot blocker and guard the ball. They like the energy I’ve been playing with and think that I could come in and boost the morale of what they’re building.”

Vanderbilt: “They are a new school on me. Things have gone really well, we’re building a relationship. They want to get me on campus, meet all the coaches, and be around the guys. They had a good year last year and played through their guards and wings. The coaches say they like how I play and fit in with what they have success with.”

“I’m also talking with West Virginia,” Swinton said. “They were talking about getting up there for an official visit.” (editor’s note- this interview took place prior to West Virginia naming Josh Eilert as its Interim Head Coach).

In his words

“I came in wanting to show these coaches what I’ve been working on,” AJ Swinton said. “The ball handling and that I can lead an offense and lead a defense.

“I’ll probably commit on, or around, July 21. That is my grandfather’s birthday, so I’d like to do it around that time. Trust will be the biggest thing for me. A coaching staff that I am able to trust, but also a coach that is able to trust in me and my abilities. Someone that is able to better me as a man and not just a basketball player.

“I want to go to a school where I can get a great education. God forbid if basketball doesn’t work out, somewhere that I can use my off-court abilities. I want to go to a campus where I fit in. Not with just the basketball players but with the vibe on campus and the students.

“I want to be able to get out in transition and run. So I want to go to a program that plays fast but also plays solid. A program that preaches good, hard defense. Sit down for a full shot clock and takes pride on the defensive end.”