Big Week For 2020 Recruiting

[Stuhoo]

 

• Anthony Leal
• Trey Galloway
• Matt Cross

all on campus this week.

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

So should we be (hopefully) expecting a commmitment or two by the end of the week?

[Stuhoo]

10 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

So should we be (hopefully) expecting a commmitment or two by the end of the week?

 

One would be pretty excellent.

Can't decide who would be my first choice. Probably not Leal, but not because of his relative value as a player; much more because the other two would be less expected and could lead to a Leal commitment soon thereafter.

 

[HinnyHoosier]

Big week and a positive week as well. However, I don't expect commitments anywhere near the timing of visits. These are kids wth rising stocks and I just think they'll take at least the summer to test the offers.


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[JSHoosier]

https://www.d1circuit.com/roster_players/32417026

I don't see the appeal of Cross.  We need perimeter shooting and he shoots sub 30% from 3.

[Stuhoo]

20 minutes ago, JSHoosier said:

https://www.d1circuit.com/roster_players/32417026

I don't see the appeal of Cross.  We need perimeter shooting and he shoots sub 30% from 3.

 

That's oversimplifying it; he shot under 30% from 3 in eight games on a really, really bad AAU team  where he had unusual attention from opponents.

His high school shooting stats on a good prep team are apparently much, much better. And, he plays with a major chip on his shoulder.

Not that he'll be anywhere near this good, but seems like he's a Lamar Stevens size and game type; hard-nosed, has to be guarded on the perimeter. 

 

[JSHoosier]

24 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

That's oversimplifying it; he shot under 30% from 3 in eight games on a really, really bad AAU team  where he had unusual attention from opponents.

His high school shooting stats on a good prep team are apparently much, much better. And, he plays with a major chip on his shoulder.

Not that he'll be anywhere near this good, but seems like he's a Lamar Stevens size and game type; hard-nosed, has to be guarded on the perimeter. 

 

https://www.prepcircuit.com/roster_players/28383972

Much better, 30% instead of less than 30%.

[Brass Cannon]

Not every player has to be a 3 point threat. You just need enough to have two on the court at all times

[Stuhoo]

28 minutes ago, JSHoosier said:

https://www.prepcircuit.com/roster_players/28383972

Much better, 30% instead of less than 30%.

 

That only lists two games! (He was 3-10 in those two games.)

I was looking for more expansive high school stats and couldn't find any, but Ima gonna guess that a kid that is universally looked at as a high-end perimeter shooter is thought of that way for real reasons. 

Seems like the best take I've seen is by our own Stromboli, who saw him in person in the past month:

Stromboli

• 
•  
• Good morning, dudes

I made sure I checked out the IU targets I knew about.  By far Matt Cross was the most noteworthy.  

First the bad.  The only thing I came away with was that he's in that tweener size like Justin Smith.  He's a 6'7" "Power Forward" that doesn't really play from the perimeter or play back-to-the-basket.  He cannot play 5 and shouldn't play 3, but doesn't have the length for a B1G 4.  Afterwards I saw--as WayneFleek pointed out--his efficiency is pretty awful.  Not a great look to take that many shots, with that many misses, and have a losing team.

Otherwise, he was easily the best player on the floor.  He plays heads-up ball, so he's affecting the game on every possession on both ends of the floor.  Willingly fights in the lane.  Definitely athletic; more of a smooth athleticism than plain explosive, but he moves like a basketball player.  

So in my view, the reason he was getting so many shots (and points) is because he was working for them.  Every possession down, he'd fight his man and give the PG an easy pass to get it to him, and then he'd try to make a shot.  The others 3 weren't moving much.  It really seemed that he was trying to help his PG make a safe pass.  Now, should he have tried to distribute more?  I don't know, maybe.  Or maybe the coach wanted him shooting.  Anyway, he was the best player on the floor.

[JSHoosier]

9 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

That only lists two games! (He was 3-10 in those two games.)

I was looking for more expansive high school stats and couldn't find any, but Ima gonna guess that a kid that is universally looked at as a high-end perimeter shooter is though of that way for real reasons. 

 

I'm skeptical a guy ranked outside the top 220 is that good.

[Stuhoo]

7 minutes ago, JSHoosier said:

I'm skeptical a guy ranked outside the top 220 is that good.

 

I hear you - I'm also skeptical that a guy inside the top 220 is good, and that's where Matt Cross will be after this AAU season.

When the day is done, this staff's ultimate performance is judged on the quality and fit of players they get to IU. Last year four of them were healthy and saw the court: Rob P, Romeo, Fitzner, and Damezi. Rob P and Romeo were largely a success, Fitzner was a flop, and Damezi did not show anything good, but was always expected to be a long-term developmental player. 

 

[JSHoosier]

8 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

I hear you - I'm also skeptical that a guy inside the top 220 is good, and that's where Matt Cross will be after this AAU season.

When the day is done, this staff's ultimate performance is judged on the quality and fit of players they get to IU. Last year four of them were healthy and saw the court: Rob P, Romeo, Fitzner, and Damezi. Rob P and Romeo were largely a success, Fitzner was a flop, and Damezi did not show anything good, but was always expected to be a long-term developmental player. 

 

Phinisee and Anderson were both inside the top 140.  Langford was a burger boy.  Not really comparable to a roughly 220 ranked recruit.

Rankings aren't a science and players get missed but there's probably a reason a player is that low IMO.

[Brass Cannon]

2 minutes ago, JSHoosier said:

Phinisee and Anderson were both inside the top 140.  Langford was a burger boy.  Not really comparable to a roughly 220 ranked recruit.

Rankings aren't a science and players get missed but there's probably a reason a player is that low IMO.

A lot of it is growth projection. If a guy shoots up 4 inches after high school like me his ranking is gonna shoot you too. Except they stop ranking those kids so it doesn’t. 

Where as a kid who is number 1 in the 8th grade but stops growing in the 9th grade has no chance to keep that ranking

[GnarlyNormEllenberger]

Regarding Matt Cross...

According to the following article from Xavier's 247 site... https://247sports.com/college/xavier/Article/Xavier-Musketeers-Basketball-Recruiting-Matt-Cross-2020-Forward-Massachusetts-BABC-Travis-Steele--132210096/

"In addition to Xavier, Cross added offers from Miami, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, South Carolina, Creighton, Georgia Tech, Illinois, and Butler already this spring. Those schools have been the ones most involved in his recruitment lately."

Definitely has a lot of high-majors interested in him, so I'm not sure I put too much stock in his current ranking. The same article also says we're rumored to be the early leader in his recruitment.

[WayneFleekHoosier]

Yeah, it’s too early to use rankings as an overarching evaluator. This AAU season will be the cause of a lot of fluctuations in rankings.

Common to see huge bumps and breakout performers.


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[mdn82]

Yeah, it’s too early to use rankings as an overarching evaluator. This AAU season will be the cause of a lot of fluctuations in rankings.

Common to see huge bumps and breakout performers.


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Agreed and to take it a step further there is usually a huge tier even within the five stars and beyond. 2020 seems to have a lot more parity and less standouts within those tiers. I am indifferent on this kid as I haven’t watched enough video to make any kind of evaluation. From the sounds of it we may have him committed before the end of summer so I better start watching his tapes.


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