TeeterInNJ

Not at all concerned about Mack's ability to fit next to Malik and Kel'el on offense (defense either, but a little more than offense) I think people are suddenly low on his shooting ability for two main reasons: A) They're only looking at the most recent EYBL stats, where he had a poor shooting stretch for a few games that really brought down his averages. B) The narrative around him as a prospect definitely changed substantially post Duke de-commit. Probably to be expected given their hype train, but he's still the same guy. Like I said, I'm not expecting 20/5/5 from day 1. But, he is going to bring a great work ethic and help us stretch the floor. Very confident in his ability to do that. Tip-off can't come soon enough!

Pumped to see our Hoosiers take down the defending national champs in the Garden. Going to be a great atmosphere. Have an unwarranted sense of confidence about this match up... Consider the Jersey contingent of the fan base sauced from the pre-season kool-aid already Tip-off can't get here soon enough!

Gladstone is a 15 minute drive from me. It is also a fairly significantly more upscale area, lol. Not a bastion of 5 star recruits at all. His parents are clearly hard workers and have instilled a business oriented mindset in Mack - rightfully so. As said on HH, they all saw his potential and rallied around him. This young man has an amazing family and support system. Great head on his shoulders. Gill St. Bernards, where he spent the first three years of his career, is less than 20 miles from me. I've been hearing about this kid for years. Saw a few games when he was a freshman/sophomore. He was always clearly a cut above. GSB is not exactly a slouch program (they're actually really, really good since the early 2010s), but Roselle Catholic is more of a basketball factory kind of school. He won a state championship in his single year there. I honestly find this entire recruitment semi-miraculous (exaggerating, but the stars definitely aligned) between him opting out of Duke, his mother texting Woodson, the Indiana plate, winning out when he was still kind of undecided. Not the only factor, but sounds like NIL made a big difference too. Let's be real ya'll - it wasn't the license plate. He loved the campus and the visit/felt comfortable with the staff. Tough not to love Bloomington. Plus, a ton of kids from around here go to IU, it's plenty well known and regarded... easy to acclimate to. Nobody from NJ goes to Kansas, really. You don't hear about anyone around here going there, maybe silly to say, but screw them lol. He knew he wanted to go to IU, just needed a signal to show it wasn't "recency bias" (his words) ...I may or may not have called up a few old pals from Muncie, Marion, and Kokomo to make a road trip... call it intuition. For real though, I do see a ton of Indiana license plates around here. Not just 18 wheelers, regular cars/trucks. Couple of times every week reliably. And tons of IU alumni/parent/student stickers and vanity plates. To put it into perspective, he played on the same AAU team as DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw heading to Kentucky (also teammates at Camden, an NJ powerhouse). He was reliably the first option on that team. Of course on a team that stacked, guys are going to get their's on any given night. But if the game was coming down to the wire, more often than not, the play was getting drawn up for Mack. Pretty sure a while ago I saw an interview with DJ Wagner acknowledging Mack would probably be considered the team's "leader" if he had to pick a player. I'll have to see if I can find it later and will share here. I don't think Mack is going to walk in and be averaging 20ppg+ from Day 1, but I do think he is going to live in the gym and continue to get better from now through March. And I expect that as he gets more comfortable at the college level and familiar with teammates/staff, he will grow into more of a leadership role (obviously this is going to be XJ's team, but Mack did not come here to F around and I think he is the kind of guy to hold himself and the people around him accountable). How many more days until the season starts, again?

Why does Reeves want to leave UK after just one year - is that known? I guess a year in Lexington will make you want to take off asap.

Bummer if Reeves is really out of the picture. That said, I'm ready to roll with Trey, CJ and Jakai at the 2. Hopefully Newton is healthy and Gunn is ready to go. I am fairly optimistic. Trey has earned the starting spot, I like him next to X.

Are recruits just not buying what Cal is selling anymore?

My prediction of what is most likely/what I'm hoping for, at this point, I think Hart goes to UK Wilcher announces elsewhere (probably wants to decide asap and get on campus somewhere) Reeves finishes up undergrad at ISU in August and announces he's coming to Bloomington Reeves misses summer workouts but he is already a seasoned college pro and ready to contribute. We pick up momentum and are projected us as top 2 or 3 in the Big Ten...maybe some early season chemistry kinks to iron out, rotations, etc. But when we get rolling... watch out! I think we're in good shape in any case but if we pick up Reeves (or Wilcher) that is the icing on the cake.

I agree on Hart and Reeves 100% RE: Wilcher, I agree 90% I think he is so talented, he would not get "buried" put IMO likely carve out a 20 min/game role that plays to his strengths (driving/scoring, playmaking). He wants to show he can be a PG and shoot the 3 reliably, but hasn't shown that ability consistently (why he dropped from top 10 to top 40). Don't think he'd be a one and done here at all, maybe on a 2 year plan (or he's a transfer risk). Not sure how realistic he is being with himself about time he will need in school and not sure how much of a factor that will ultimately be in his re-recruitment. I don't love the fit/make-up class wise of Galloway/Wilcher/Gunn/Newton + Cupps at the 1. It just seems like that wouldn't work out for everyone. That said, give me all the talent we can get. I will be happy (to varying degrees) with any of these three to round out the roster.

I haven't done a ton of research on Reeves because I've been waiting for an official transfer announcement first. Based on the last few posts, decided to look at his UK highlights... holy cow. If we land Reeves or Wilcher next year is going to be scary for the rest of the Big 10. Reeves probably is the better prospect in terms of next year's roster. Hart would be a very solid pick up too, albeit not the same level. Love that we're concerned about how landing Wilcher (a former top 10 recruit and current top 40 guy) would impact getting the top prospect and another stud in 2024. Don't think we're going to see any Jeremiah Aprils on the IU roster with Woody and staff here. Just completely awesome work by them this offseason.

At around 1:50 mark, they start a segment about Wilcher and Mgbako going to rival schools. They talk about being pretty tight friends off the court... just a nugget considering some speculated they don't get along... (Wilcher also says later in the video he is proud of Mgbako and mentions he's grown up playing with/around them) Maybe I'm dead wrong but I don't see SJU working out here. If we get a foot in the door I think we have as good a chance as anyone.

Race gave his all to IU and I'm glad he will always be a Hoosier. That said, I feel as though Woodson being able to get guys like Race Thompson NBA workouts, is another stepping stone on the way to really elevating this program.

Xavier and this kid in the same backcourt are good for ~4 combined technical fouls next year ...... if it happens

How reliable/connected is Tyler Tachman? Maybe Wilcher deserves his own recruiting thread?

Am I..... willing this recruitment into existence? /s