(2021) G Luke Brown to Ball State

[IU/Butler/Notre Dame]

https://m.soundcloud.com/indianahshoops/blackford-coach-jerry-hoover-and-luke-brown

 

neat interview 

[IU/Butler/Notre Dame]

Add  Niagara 

[MikeRoberts]

Add  Niagara 

He’s racking up offers but they don’t seem to be getting any better. Any power 5s yet?


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[Uspshoosier]

He’s racking up offers but they don’t seem to be getting any better. Any power 5s yet?


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Not yet. This summer would of been huge for him. Now he doesn’t have the opportunity to play in front of coaches. Summer before senior year is big for recruits to try and improve offers. He is going to have an uphill battle getting a power 5 offer now. High school schedule isn’t strong enough to move the needle and fair or unfair what happen with his AAU team last year has raised some flags with some coaches. I haven’t heard if Pitino has reaffirmed the Iona offer yet.


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[Class of '66 Old Fart]

4 hours ago, IU/Butler/Notre Dame said:

Add  Niagara 

Major D1 offers have not materialized and likelihood of any AAU season to boost his stock appears unlikely.  Are you picking up any sense that he'll make a commitment from the offers he does have or roll the dice that he'll garner higher interest by waiting until spring?  And a secondary question would be do you have any feel for where he would commit from among the current offers he does have?

[IU/Butler/Notre Dame]

3 hours ago, MikeRoberts said:

He’s racking up offers but they don’t seem to be getting any better. Any power 5s yet?


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Nope and he had leaned toward joining under armor rise But if they don’t get a partial season in it’s going to take a school striking out on their initial offers and a coach with a lot of confidence to make a risky signing to make a power 6 materialize   ....i linked a post to an interview where he mentioned that 10 or 15 schools had been staying in contact with him but had not offered ...the two that have most frequently been brought up in my presence are Clemson and northwestern but neither have offered ....Purdue was near that level but it has always seemed more of a “‘just in case “ measure by the way it’s described ( as in just in case he grows or just in case we have an unexpected infilled slot )

[IU/Butler/Notre Dame]

3 hours ago, Uspshoosier said:

Not yet. This summer would of been huge for him. Now he doesn’t have the opportunity to play in front of coaches. Summer before senior year is big for recruits to try and improve offers. He is going to have an uphill battle getting a power 5 offer now. High school schedule isn’t strong enough to move the needle and fair or unfair what happen with his AAU team last year has raised some flags with some coaches. I haven’t heard if Pitino has reaffirmed the Iona offer yet.


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As of last week Iona hadn’t retracted ...but I’m not sure they are overjoyed , Pitino has many pros but unfortunately many cons ...I agree this summer was a chance to show he could mask any size deficiency and if he was going to play with UA rise team he would have had a chance to get more touches considering if he stayed put he’d have trey and Keon still undecided fighting for more offers and JR still showing out committed to ND ...thats a lot of talent to share.

[IU/Butler/Notre Dame]

1 hour ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Major D1 offers have not materialized and likelihood of any AAU season to boost his stock appears unlikely.  Are you picking up any sense that he'll make a commitment from the offers he does have or roll the dice that he'll garner higher interest by waiting until spring?  And a secondary question would be do you have any feel for where he would commit from among the current offers he does have?

I feel horrible for him ( and all kids in the position of having lost the end of their season and some important recruitment opportunities)  I’ve not gotten to see them at all because we aren’t playing or using the schools facilities.  I’ve spoken to them but with what they are going through I’ve been over casual and tried not to pry but they are being very open with the fact ( so I don’t feel bad sharing ) that for at least the time being they want to see if they get any abbreviated summer action and maybe even delay into the season.  I think they really really want to have a power 6 option but I also don’t think they have an unrealistic expectation it will come.  I think they know Iona could be off the table especially if they wait.  
  If no new offers came I think there is a short list but I can not say it’s a specific narrow down it’s just they seem to have talked about or mentioned with more excitement certain things and they are as follows:

 

1. ball state :  

  Pros: closest to current and former home, opportunity to start or have significant minutes, they are at least competitive to win their conference, maybe not favorite but not an also ran.

  Cons:  not a perennial tourney team, and his sister was a scholarship volley ball player there and didn’t have the best total experience 

2. Toledo :

    Pros: is the school that has recruited him possibly the hardest or at least shown the most effort.  Regular calls, coaches or staff have made efforts to come see him multiple times, still regionally close 

     Cons:  their roster doesn’t scream strong chance to make a tourney appearance 

 

3. Akron:

    Pros: groce has coached at big programs, they have a super speedy undersized point guard who comes back as a grad this year but will be gone lukes freshman year which gives him a chance to compete for immediate floor time, they have a solid roster and should be conference favorites for a couple years 

  Cons:  lack of connection other than the pros and they haven’t been as aggressive as Toledo 

 

they have also mentioned they know Kent state is a conference favorite but didn’t give many more details 

please bear in mind this is just my take from casual convos if I say “ congrats on the offer” or “ how are things going “

 

[mdn82]

I feel horrible for him ( and all kids in the position of having lost the end of their season and some important recruitment opportunities)  I’ve not gotten to see them at all because we aren’t playing or using the schools facilities.  I’ve spoken to them but with what they are going through I’ve been over casual and tried not to pry but they are being very open with the fact ( so I don’t feel bad sharing ) that for at least the time being they want to see if they get any abbreviated summer action and maybe even delay into the season.  I think they really really want to have a power 6 option but I also don’t think they have an unrealistic expectation it will come.  I think they know Iona could be off the table especially if they wait.  
  If no new offers came I think there is a short list but I can not say it’s a specific narrow down it’s just they seem to have talked about or mentioned with more excitement certain things and they are as follows:
 
1. ball state :  
  Pros: closest to current and former home, opportunity to start or have significant minutes, they are at least competitive to win their conference, maybe not favorite but not an also ran.
  Cons:  not a perennial tourney team, and his sister was a scholarship volley ball player there and didn’t have the best total experience 
2. Toledo :
    Pros: is the school that has recruited him possibly the hardest or at least shown the most effort.  Regular calls, coaches or staff have made efforts to come see him multiple times, still regionally close 
     Cons:  their roster doesn’t scream strong chance to make a tourney appearance 
 
3. Akron:
    Pros: groce has coached at big programs, they have a super speedy undersized point guard who comes back as a grad this year but will be gone lukes freshman year which gives him a chance to compete for immediate floor time, they have a solid roster and should be conference favorites for a couple years 
  Cons:  lack of connection other than the pros and they haven’t been as aggressive as Toledo 
 
they have also mentioned they know Kent state is a conference favorite but didn’t give many more details 
please bear in mind this is just my take from casual convos if I say “ congrats on the offer” or “ how are things going “
 

There have been some great players go through Ball St. No shame in that program. Not a perennial power by any stretch, but he can have a great career in a place like that. I will watch him.


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[IU/Butler/Notre Dame]

50 minutes ago, mdn82 said:

There have been some great players go through Ball St. No shame in that program. Not a perennial power by any stretch, but he can have a great career in a place like that. I will watch him.


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Selfishly ...I won’t complain a bit ...id be 25 minutes from all his home games and I was a student at bsu for one of their best seasons (01) would love to see them get back to a tourney 

[Uspshoosier]

As of last week Iona hadn’t retracted ...but I’m not sure they are overjoyed , Pitino has many pros but unfortunately many cons ...I agree this summer was a chance to show he could mask any size deficiency and if he was going to play with UA rise team he would have had a chance to get more touches considering if he stayed put he’d have trey and Keon still undecided fighting for more offers and JR still showing out committed to ND ...thats a lot of talent to share.

if Pitino hasn’t called and reaffirmed the offer then most likely he is moving on recruiting his own players. He has already taken 2 commitments from guards in the 2021 class that he offered after he took the job.


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[Stuhoo]

Pitino generally focuses on quick twitch athletes and pressure defense.

LBrown has other skills as his best qualities. Doesn’t seem like a Pitino system fit at all.

 

[IU/Butler/Notre Dame]

4 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Pitino generally focuses on quick twitch athletes and pressure defense.

LBrown has other skills as his best qualities. Doesn’t seem like a Pitino system fit at all.

 

Typically I’d agree with you , however pitino was fully behind bringing McMahon to Louisville and Brown is similar size , as good or better shooter, and a better ball handler at comparable age.  He brought him into a highly athletic class lead by Donovan Mitchell ....I think your correct pitino puts a premium on athleticism for exactly the reasons you described but I also think he has a history of making recruiting classes diverse and well rounded so it won’t honestly surprise me either way.  I don’t get the feeling they are excited about him so I don’t think it will hurt any feelings if he doesn’t honor the offer 

[Uspshoosier]

Typically I’d agree with you , however pitino was fully behind bringing McMahon to Louisville and Brown is similar size , as good or better shooter, and a better ball handler at comparable age.  He brought him into a highly athletic class lead by Donovan Mitchell ....I think your correct pitino puts a premium on athleticism for exactly the reasons you described but I also think he has a history of making recruiting classes diverse and well rounded so it won’t honestly surprise me either way.  I don’t get the feeling they are excited about him so I don’t think it will hurt any feelings if he doesn’t honor the offer 

Vitale was the driving force behind him taking McMahon at Louisville. He played at a high school down in Florida and Vitale called any coach who would listen to give the kid a chance. Vitale makes sure on every broadcast game he did of Louisville’s that he tells the story. New coaches don’t have to honor offers made by previous coaching staffs. Either way sounds like this is a situation where both parties are better off moving on.


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[IU/Butler/Notre Dame]

59 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Vitale was the driving force behind him taking McMahon at Louisville. He played at a high school down in Florida and Vitale called any coach who would listen to give the kid a chance. Vitale makes sure on every broadcast game he did of Louisville’s that he tells the story. New coaches don’t have to honor offers made by previous coaching staffs. Either way sounds like this is a situation where both parties are better off moving on.


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Agreed ....and i understand their point ...pitino has such a great history as a coach and it would be a fantastic opportunity from a basketball standpoint but as a parent with the things that have happened especially at Louisville I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable putting one of my children in his hands 

[Uspshoosier]

Agreed ....and i understand their point ...pitino has such a great history as a coach and it would be a fantastic opportunity from a basketball standpoint but as a parent with the things that have happened especially at Louisville I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable putting one of my children in his hands 

Agreed and I understand the new coaches point on not reaffirming the offer and moving on


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[IU/Butler/Notre Dame]

I thought he might be only one or one of few in the state ...I guess it’s harder than  I thought as not many do it nationally apparently 

[TheWatShot]

Send him to Ball State. They'd probably get an extra 2-3 thousand fans at their games, and may threaten to fill half the arena now and then. 

[ray]

Ball State is not a perennial MAC champion, but they are consistently finishing in the top 5 and usually find themselves somewhere in the top 2 or 3 before they fumble in the last week or two of the seasons. I’ve never quite figured it out.

Either way, for selfish reasons, I would love for him to attend Ball State. I have seen Worthen Arena packed to the gills, but each of those games were during the Bonzi Wells era...a homegrown kid on the brink of setting the MAC scoring record (Ray McCallum was the long-time holder of that scoring title before Wells broke it). Bonzi came along just a few years after the BSU Sweet 16 run (a time when UNLV players wore BSU hats at the press conference out of respect for the only team to compete against their roster of future NBA all-stars), so fans were already into BSU basketball upon his arrival. Things have dropped off considerably since Bonzi’s days, so I can’t foresee any sell-outs at Worthen. But, as for the MAC schools, I believe BSU has the best attendance for basketball games and Brown would be another local kid who could make a big impact at a school like Ball State. 

I would go to a lot more games if he comes to Ball State, and I know A LOT of other people who have already told me the same thing. 

[IU/Butler/Notre Dame]

2 hours ago, TheWatShot said:

Send him to Ball State. They'd probably get an extra 2-3 thousand fans at their games, and may threaten to fill half the arena now and then. 

I wouldn’t mind but I doubt it would make that kinda impact ...some of the home games would conflict with Blackfords schedule but I bet they could do 500 realistically ....I still don’t think it would get them to half capacity sadly unless they are playing Purdue iu or notre Dame and that isn’t gonna be at ball state most likely if so ....still remember iu coming to worthern my freshman year it was the most exciting home game by far my four years there