Visits coming together for 5-star forward Julian Phillips

Blythewood (S.C.) Link Year Prep forward Julian Phillips has been the biggest 2022 target on the board this spring after decommitting from LSU after Will Wade’s firing.

The 6-foot-8, 200-pounder chose the Tigers over finalists USC, Florida State and Tennessee the first time around. And those schools are back involved, but so are a few more.

“I have been hearing from a lot of schools,” Phillips recently told On3 National Recruiting Analyst Jamie Shaw. “Tennessee, Florida State, Gonzaga, Auburn, South Carolina, and Southern Cal are some of the schools I hear from most off the top of my head. I took all five visits for my junior year; I still have three or four official visits left for my senior year.”

Phillips didn’t have the Gamecocks among his top schools under former coach Frank Martin, but new head man Lamont Paris is making it a priority to bring him back to South Carolina. After growing up there, Phillips transferred to Link Year Prep in Branson, Missouri, for his senior season.

On Saturday morning, Shaw confirmed a report that Phillips was on campus at South Carolina today. He has been on the campus numerous times before, growing up just 20 miles outside Columbia.

“I don’t know much about him personally, but I know the USC culture,” Phillips told Shaw. “Being from South Carolina, I saw them a lot growing up and have been around that program a lot.”

Auburn’s big year caught the attention of Julian Phillips

He currently has one other visit locked in — an official to Auburn beginning this Monday. His program also didn’t make the cut the first time around for Phillips, but the Tigers’ success this season and the development of potential No. 1 overall pick Jabari Smith have caught his attention.

Phillips has yet to set any other trips yet, but could take as many as three more official visits before a decision is made. He doesn’t have a timeline on when that will happen, but mostly wants to spend the next weeks and months getting to know new and old coaches more.

“The three things I will be looking for the most this time around will be a system I can fit in,” he said. “A place where I can come in as a freshman and play right away and make an impact. And lastly, I want to have a good relationship with the coaching staff. I want to go to a place where they trust me, and I have that same trust with them.”

Phillips is the No. 16 overall prospect in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also ranks as the nation’s No. 3 power forward.