RECRUITING

Get familiar with Lawrence North rising junior Ra Kpedi

Kyle Neddenriep

North Central High School sophomore T.J. Walton (25) is fouled by Lawrence North High School sophomore Ra Kpedi (52) as he tries to put up a shot during the first half of action. Lawrence North High School hosted North Central High School in a first-round game of the 2015 Marion County Boys Basketball Tournament, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015.

Here's a name to know in the in-state 2017 class – Lawrence North forward Ra Kpedi.

The 6-8 Kpedi is a young sophomore. He won't turn 16 until September. His improvement from the beginning of his high school season to this spring has a number of Division I programs interested in taking a closer look.

"From the beginning of the season to the end of the year I think I made a lot of improvements and so did the team overall," he said. "I really worked on post moves and stressed that, ball-handling and learning how to play against bigger defenders. I worked a lot on my jump shot and need to keep working on it going into the season."

Kpedi plays with the Indiana Elite G3 Rising Stars, along with Lawrence North teammates Kevin Easley and Antwaan Cushingberry, two rising sophomores who played key roles this season for the Wildcats. Lawrence North won its first sectional in six years and will have a solid core returning.

"I think we had a pretty good year," Kpedi said. "It was sad we lost in the regional but I think we have a pretty good squad coming back and think we should be a team to watch out for."

Kpedi, who picked up his first offer from IUPUI in February, is early in the recruiting process and hasn't taken any college visits. Other programs showing interest are Butler, Bradley, Indiana, Purdue, Saint Louis and Western Illinois.

"I was happy IUPUI offered me a scholarship but I'm not really focused on that right now," he said. "I'm mostly focused on school and books and then I'll look into my offers later on and decide."

Part of the intrigue with Kpedi is that he is young for his grade and that post players typically take longer to develop. He also appears to have the right mindset on how he needs to improve.

"I've always been one of the biggest kids on my teams so the coaches always wanted to put me in the post," he said. "I'd want to float out (to the perimeter) sometimes. But I just want to keep improving. I hope to take on a bigger leadership role with the team and just not get down on myself and stay composed."