One of the best lead guard prospects in high school basketball, whispers that Mannion would reclassify into the 2019 class have been ongoing for over a year now and on Friday, his intentions became official. “I just decided that if I could go two more years of high school or go to college year earlier, a year of college would be more beneficial for me,” he said. “I don’t think that the second year of high school would do me any good since there isn’t as much competition so I feel like going to college would help me develop and get better.”

Five-star guard Nico Mannion has made it official by reclassifying into the 2019 class, thus speeding up his high school clock where he will now enroll in college next fall.

Mannion has been focused on a group of ten consisting of Arizona, Duke, Kansas, Oregon, Villanova, UCLA, USC, Utah, Marquette, and Vanderbilt. The next step is cutting it down further. "I will narrow it down soon, sometime later this week," he said. "I will probably cut it to five or six and whenever I do then, I will begin to set some visits."

A thorough plan has already been put into place so that the proper credits are achieved in gaining eligibility college eligibility next fall. “I am taking two online classes right now that I will be done with by the time that school starts and I will just take my regular day at school and then two electives online and then I will be good,” he said.

What makes Mannion special is his ability to score but also create for others in an efficient manner. He has already earned his stripes suiting up for Italy at various FIBA events thanks to his Italian descent and has won seemingly each step of the way with the West Coast Elite travel unit and with his Pinnacle High program.

Arizona and Villanova appear to be the most talked about programs involved with Mannion but a clearer picture will become known in the coming days whenever he does decide to cut his list to a final five or six where he has the chance to immediately stabilize a contending team’s backcourt from day one.