Everybody Looking

Ignore the rumors. Ignore the criticism. Ignore the noise. There’s a reason Arizona commit DEANDRE AYTON has been ranked as the No. 1 player in the Class of 2017 for the last three years: So far, no one’s been able to stop the 7-foot beast.

- Franklyn Calle

Just a month after announcing his college decision live on SportsCenter, DeAndre Ayton sits back and thinks about his journey. Since his arrival to the United States from the Bahamas in 2011, he’s emerged as the top recruit in the Class of 2017—a title he’s held for the past three years. Leaving his mother and siblings behind at the time was extremely tough. But in the grand scheme of things, living in the States without his family hasn’t even been the toughest part of the process. As his game continued to blow up, so did his name.

“The biggest challenge was blocking everybody out of my mind when I play,” Ayton says. “A lot of tweets go around saying, ‘He’s not eligible for college,’ stuff like that. I’ve had to overcome that. On the court, though, there’s no challenge, to be honest—other than just focusing. I adapted to it. I’ve heard a lot of criticism in my life, ever since I moved out here to the US, but that type of stuff doesn’t bother me. I use it as motivation.”