Carlton Bragg ready to announce college choice

Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s Carlton Bragg (31) goes up for a shot between Lima Central Catholic’s Jake Williams (40) and Dantez Walton (32) during the first quarter of the OHSAA Division III boys’ high school basketball championship game on March 22, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio.

Today is Decision Day for blue chip basketball prospect Carlton Bragg, who will announce for either Kansas University, Kentucky or Illinois at 1:45 p.m., Central time, at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School in Cleveland, Ohio.

Bragg, a 6-foot-9, 225-pound senior power forward, who is ranked No. 14 nationally by Rivals.com, will attend a reception in the school’s Ministry Center where he, coach Babe Kwasniak and others are expected to make brief comments.

The decision is slated to be revealed at the twitter handle @realchalktalk shortly after the 1:45 p.m. announcement is made. David Cassilo of Cleveland.com wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that the Website is planning a live-stream of the event. His Twitter handle is @dcassilo.

KU appears to be in good shape to land Bragg. A pair of recruiting analysts — Jerry Meyer of 247Sports.com and Evan Daniels of scout.com — have cited the Jayhawks as the favorites.

Bragg, who attended KU’s Late Night in the Phog on an official recruiting trip, was named second team Division III All-Ohio in 2014 after averaging 18.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and helping the Vikings reach the state championship game. This season, he’s averaging more than 20 points and 8 rebounds per game for the Vikings, who are off to a 7-0 start with wins over national powers Archbishop Carroll and Arlington Country Day.

The four-year starter also has been named all-conference and all district multiple times. He helped VASJ to a 2013 Div. IV state title in 2013 and runnerup finish a year ago.

He previously had UCLA and Arizona on his list of five.

“I have taken my visits and I am ready to make the big decision. This will allow me to devote all my attention to winning a state championship at Villa Angela-St. Joseph,” Bragg told ESPN.com.

Last week, Kentucky coach John Calipari and U of I assistant Dustin Ford watched Bragg at the Cancer Research Classic in Wheeling, W.V. KU’s Bill Self and Norm Roberts had to cancel a planned trip because of weather concerns.

It’s said Bragg would like to be part of a package deal with No. 2-rated Jaylen Brown, a 6-7 senior from Wheeler High in Marietta, Georgia; and No. 18 Brandon Ingram, 6-8 from Kinston (North Carolina) High. Both are also considering KU and Kentucky.

Bragg received scholarship offers from more than 20 schools, including Indiana, Texas, Michigan State, UConn, Louisville, Ohio State and Pittsburgh.