Vinny Zollo, a 6-8 senior at George Rogers Clark High School, said he went his separate way with the WKU basketball staff for a while after former assistant coach David Boyden offered him and sequentially left the staff last May.

“I really respected and liked coach Boyden a lot,” Zollo said. “He was really my link to Western. We really had a pretty good relationship, and we talked on a pretty regular basis.

“But it’s business. People move on with their situations like he did there.”

Now Zollo, a two-star recruit by Scout.com, said he’s back in contact with Head Coach Ken McDonald and planning to be at WKU Hilltopper Hysteria this October — if not sooner — for an official visit.

The forward said he’s “highly interested” in WKU but is in no hurry to sign. That’s despite becoming a big name in recruiting almost four years ago.

Zollo — then a freshman from Greenfield, Ohio — committed to play for former Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie, and his family uprooted and moved to Winchester to be closer to UK. But Gillispie was ousted from UK less than a year later, and when John Calipari was named coach, Zollo was the last of five Gillispie commitments to revoke his pledge.

Now Zollo said his recruitment is wide open.

“In my head I’ve got a few schools that I favor and the schools I talk to on a regular basis,” he said. “It varies between high-caliber and mid-major, but I’m just looking for that fit. With Western right down the road, that’s appealing.”

Wherever Zollo ends up, he said he wants it to be a place where he can contribute right away and turn into a “program guy.”

“I’m the kind of guy that, yeah, I can go to a top-25 program or a powerhouse and sit behind a Mr. Basketball and not get significant playing time until I’m a junior,” he said. “But for me, I want a little more than that. I need to find the situation that fits me best as far as coming in and making an impact.”

While the recruiting process has been lengthy, Zollo’s focus isn’t necessarily on choosing a college right now. Zollo said his priorities lie first in grades, then his high school team, and then recruiting.

When he finds the right fit, Zollo said he’ll make a choice.

“It will be a huge weight off my shoulders once I get it over with, but at the same time I can’t let that affect my readiness to make a decision,” Zollo said. “I’m ready to get it over with, but I can’t just say, ‘Oh man, I want to get rid of it.’

“I’m not prolonging the process, but I’m going to take as much time as I need to make a decision.”