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I think its far more likely Mgbako chose Friday so the family can get through this week - do their due diligence, go about their routines, etc. Then make the announcement on Friday, celebrate over the weekend, and relax knowing the decision has been made

KU vs IU twitter tomorrow from around 7pm tomorrow until something is officially announced on Friday will be ruthless lol. The KU fans are almost as relentless as ours

Hopefully we're in touch regularly throughout each day at this point. I imagine that until a decision gets communicated, the process is fairly relentless, when the competition is this high level

I think people perceive momentum to be going against us because the UL trip was not cancelled, despite rumors yesterday. Maybe they were just rumors, maybe there was some truth behind it (i.e. did he say so on his visit to Bloomington?) Just my own speculation, but given Kansas also felt great coming out of their visits, maybe MM is just excitable on these trips and says what he thinks people want to hear (not so uncommon - Calhoun said KD verballed to him on a visit for example). Could the agent be steering him toward UL? Maybe. Is it most likely MM's decision to make? I have to imagine. Of course, he may just take the guidance of his agent and that would be that (if he actually is steering toward UL, seems possible he is not and it was a misunderstanding). My hope is that with a week between visits, MM is less apt to make an on the spot decision. If he leaves UL without committing, I like our odds as much as anybody. We just have to wait and see. Lol

What is the Slater connection here out of curiosity?

Good point... Yeah... and, Louisville is an even quicker flight from Indianapolis. It seems to me if I were a recruit this late in the cycle and really wanted to make a decision soon, I'd want to schedule visits quickly. Coming from NJ and looking at his options, It'd make perfect sense (logistically speaking) to go from Kansas to IU to UL, back home to sleep on it and make a choice. Having the week between makes me think, maybe he has his mind made up already... if he actually takes it.

Interesting. Another week in between, when he is only a short drive away now, from Bloomington? I would be surprised if he made that almost same exact trip just a week later, too, in that case, assuming he is coming from NJ...

Are these the only visits he is taking? We don't have any ETA for a commitment being announced right - maybe a week or so after his last visit?

Do we know if he leaves tonight or tomorrow?

Maybe I'm underestimating the amount of $$$$$$ at play these days, I think the most advantageous aspect of Dickinson committing to Kansas is the NIL commitment they'll have made to him. I know there is a lot of money, but it's not unlimited. Not familiar with how these payments are set up but at a certain point doesn't the big money sort of tell the coach they've given him as good of a roster as he needs? Obviously Kansas is tough to argue with from a winning/recent prestige standpoint. But from a role in the offense/playing time perspective, I think IU may have a slight edge. He wants to go to the NBA quick as a top 10 recruit, Woodson pulled it off with JHS who people didn't think was as NBA-ready as Mgbako. He fills so many holes/needs on the roster and raises our ceiling in a huge way. Off the court, I imagine sponsorships/connections are relatively similar between KU and IU. Never seen KU's campus... wish MM had a chance to see Assembly Hall during a big game before deciding. Intrigued to hear he is following this notable alum in the NBA fashion market. He probably wants to go wherever he can be the biggest star and make the most money... NIL/brand deals may well be the determining factor and I have no idea how that shakes out. In any case, IU definitely has a very compelling pitch to make. I hope MM likes what he sees/hears ... but ... I am prepared to be mildly disappointed 3 five star pick ups late in the offseason in a row would be very impressive, though, if they can pull it off

Please let him go to KU. Best case scenario for us if he takes their last scholly... wish he would commit there ASAP lol

Wow, that came out of nowhere. Good for him, wish him well. Not thrilled to play him 2x next year assuming he has somewhat of an expanded role... but don't think anyone of us is losing sleep about this transfer within the conference

As a Jersey kid, I am sure NYC holds some appeal to Mgbako. I hope he realizes that NYers won't recognize him as if he is a star just because he plays at St. Johns. Literally nobody cares about them. If he were to be playing for the Knicks or Nets, sure, he'd get recognized by a few dedicated fans. So much of the appeal in Duke is being on national TV, a huge brand, rabid fan base. IU and Kansas are certainly closest in that regard.

NIL, playing time/role in offense, NBA preparedness are the determining factors here, it seems. Facilities/winning/where he can see himself fitting best culturally for a year on and off campus probably play a lesser role as well. I'm hoping NIL is a wash between the Adidas schools and St. Johns is almost tapped out already. Because from a playing time/role in the offense and NBA readiness perspective, I think IU stacks up just as well as Kansas and Louisville if not slightly better. Hopefully Kansas fills up scholly wise and it becomes a much clearer picture. Purely speculation but can't envision a top 10 recruit going to St. Johns knowing what those facilities and program is like right now, just for Pitino's first year, especially when that recruit was previously committed to Duke. Something tells me he likes the attention and fanfare as most kids do. You'll get a lot more of that at IU than you would at St. Johns. Unless Pitino has them playing almost every home game in MSG, St. Johns is a really tough sell, even with him as the coach.

Yeah, that is more or less what I mean by very selfless teammates trusting they'd be taken care of. + NIL. Still, super rare and unlikely scenario to see I think

Lol I mean, I wasn't aware of that "rule" I guess? If Reneau progresses in the same sense that Galloway has, I don't think his fouling will be a huge concern chronically next year. A few games here and there, sure, like all big men. If he progresses like Geronimo/Bates, we're in trouble and going to need Walker/Banks to step up in a big way. Don't mean to make an argument out of it though

Andre Drummond walked onto UConn because he decided that's where he wanted to go, even though they didn't have a scholarship for him. That was before NIL too. I think it would be exceedingly rare/require some very, very selfless teammates trusting they'll be taken care of, but not implausible.

Are you assuming no progression from year 1 to year 2?

... wow, I miss a few hours in this thread and the floodgates have burst open with new recruits and new back and forth bickering lol. RE: adding a backup big before we add 2 more stud rotation players. We obviously don't control the timing of recruits committing... What if Mgbako is dead set on being a wing but weary of playing backup 4 minutes? Then adding Walker is a huge benefit. We don't have any idea what the situations are and we can't change the outcome. I'm trusting Woody to get it done. We'll learn a lot about the staff/program by the end of offseason, before the season even starts, but there is no reason to be so pessimistic right now IMO. Give me Mgbako, Walker and Dingle and let's get on the court!

Plus, their coach is good and all (sure, maybe) but if you're trying to play in the league next year, are any of these coaches going to really be better able to help you navigate that process than Mike Woodson?

We need JHS glued to this kid's side during his visit the whole time/pitching him hard. Mgbako comes here, Woodson will give him the keys. In other words - next year, X & Mgbako are the equivalent of JHS & TJD this year. Hope we end up needing to learn how to pronounce his name... or that we come up with a cool nickname, lol. Kansas obviously scares me the most here. Really curious when he is making his visit to Bloomington!

Kind of surprised we're not hearing about JG to SHU. Shaheen has not been super successful in recruiting thus far at SHU, and Geronimo is originally from Newark I believe, so would be a homecoming for him. Though, that could be just as much reason to NOT go to SHU as it is, if you're at all aware about Newark, NJ lol

Its scary to think about this team without XJ next year

Could not agree with you any more, same exact views on all fronts over here. We'll see if things heat up! Would make a lot of sense

Wonder if Ware could go to work for us here... like the tape!