(2020) PF Matt Cross to Miami

[Stuhoo]

Love the heavy football background.

Matt Cross plays angry; we need guys like that.

 

[HoosierDYT]

Little optimism for the summer:

 

Cross is scheduled for an official visit to Bloomington next week.

 

He’s looking to sign and commit before his high school season.

 

We’re rumored to be the leader.

 

 

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[KzooHoosier82]

A 6’6 power forward with no hops or post moves, who shoots 30% from beyond the arc and is a volume scorer on a terrible team...hard pass. 

[HoosierRobbie]

A 6’6 power forward with no hops or post moves, who shoots 30% from beyond the arc and is a volume scorer on a terrible team...hard pass. 

So much for optimism lol.


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[KzooHoosier82]

7 hours ago, HoosierRobbie said:

So much for optimism lol.


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Blind optimism won’t benefit anyone. I know the 2020 class was never going to be “epic” but I would have thought our staff would be focusing more on guys who fill actual needs like Caleb Love, securing Leal’s committment and if we have room find potential diamond in the rough like this kid. Losing out on our top target in Morton to our arch rival then taking a kid outside the top 200 sends a negative message to potential recruits, imo. Looks desperate 

[SlamaJamaSisley]

15 minutes ago, KzooHoosier82 said:

Blind optimism won’t benefit anyone. I know the 2020 class was never going to be “epic” but I would have thought our staff would be focusing more on guys who fill actual needs like Caleb Love, securing Leal’s committment and if we have room find potential diamond in the rough like this kid. Losing out on our top target in Morton to our arch rival then taking a kid outside the top 200 sends a negative message to potential recruits, imo. Looks desperate 

Perhaps the staff is doing just that?  They are after Love and Leal, correct?

[mdn82]

Blind optimism won’t benefit anyone. I know the 2020 class was never going to be “epic” but I would have thought our staff would be focusing more on guys who fill actual needs like Caleb Love, securing Leal’s committment and if we have room find potential diamond in the rough like this kid. Losing out on our top target in Morton to our arch rival then taking a kid outside the top 200 sends a negative message to potential recruits, imo. Looks desperate 

Desperation doesn’t occur until after these kids senior year. Summer before Senior year they would legit feel they can help at some point.


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[KzooHoosier82]

41 minutes ago, mdn82 said:

Desperation doesn’t occur until after these kids senior year. Summer before Senior year they would legit feel they can help at some point.


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I hope you’re right. My thought is we can take a kid like this anytime so if he wants to commit in the summer, good for him but it shouldn’t be here. 

[KzooHoosier82]

55 minutes ago, InArchWeTrust said:

Perhaps the staff is doing just that?  They are after Love and Leal, correct?

Guess it depends on what (if anything) we do to close out 2019, which will dictate how much room we have in 2020. If we fill the last two spots with anyone but grad transfers then we can only take two in 2020.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Thus far in his 13-game AAU season on the Nike circuit, Cross ranks #6 in rebounding averaging 9.2 rpg.  He ranks 7th in scoring at 23.6 ppg.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

https://indianahq.com/indiana-gets-official-visit-from-2020-forward-matt-cross/

[Hoosierfan2017]

On 5/23/2019 at 1:06 PM, KzooHoosier82 said:

Blind optimism won’t benefit anyone. I know the 2020 class was never going to be “epic” but I would have thought our staff would be focusing more on guys who fill actual needs like Caleb Love, securing Leal’s committment and if we have room find potential diamond in the rough like this kid. Losing out on our top target in Morton to our arch rival then taking a kid outside the top 200 sends a negative message to potential recruits, imo. Looks desperate 

Well, that kid outside of the top 200 has moved up to 89 while the player we lost to our arch rival dropped to 121. Archie isn't getting desperate. He knows what he's doing. 

[woodenshoemanHoosierfan]

Climbing the rankings.

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[KzooHoosier82]

23 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

Well, that kid outside of the top 200 has moved up to 89 while the player we lost to our arch rival dropped to 121. Archie isn't getting desperate. He knows what he's doing. 

 

[Hoosierfan2017]

56 minutes ago, KzooHoosier82 said:

 

Sure, so take it for what you want. A couple weeks ago you said Archie offering this kid made him look desperate. Now that he's a top 100 kid do you still think so?

[KzooHoosier82]

19 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

Sure, so take it for what you want. A couple weeks ago you said Archie offering this kid made him look desperate. Now that he's a top 100 kid do you still think so?

I said the optics of losing out on a kid who was supposedly his top target to Purdue of all schools, then to move in on a kid who’s ranked out of the top 200 and doesn’t fill any current need looks desperate,...and I stand by that. Just because one ranking site all the sudden thinks this kid is a top 100 talent based presumably on the fact that he’s the best player on an awful AAU team doesn’t change my statement then, nor does it impact my opinion now. I’m sure Cross is a heck of a kid and could be a solid four year role player at IU but with only two guaranteed open scholarships, coupled with the fact that this kid says he wants to commit before the start the of season, I would think Archie would be going full court press on Love, Leal and/or Galloway. As I stated before, my opinion is we should focus on Love and Leal and if we have room for a kid like Cross take him down the road. 

[Hillsdale87]

46 minutes ago, KzooHoosier82 said:

I said the optics of losing out on a kid who was supposedly his top target to Purdue of all schools, then to move in on a kid who’s ranked out of the top 200 and doesn’t fill any current need looks desperate,...and I stand by that. Just because one ranking site all the sudden thinks this kid is a top 100 talent based presumably on the fact that he’s the best player on an awful AAU team doesn’t change my statement then, nor does it impact my opinion now. I’m sure Cross is a heck of a kid and could be a solid four year role player at IU but with only two guaranteed open scholarships, coupled with the fact that this kid says he wants to commit before the start the of season, I would think Archie would be going full court press on Love, Leal and/or Galloway. As I stated before, my opinion is we should focus on Love and Leal and if we have room for a kid like Cross take him down the road. 

The optics look bad to a bunch of people who don't know anything. I'm not taking a shot at anyone in particular, but nobody on this board really knows how these recruits are performing in terms of rising and falling throughout the year until these lists come out, other than some random anecdotes we hear from the Evan Daniels and Brian Snows of the world. It looked desperate to you and others because you were putting stock into static recruiting rankings. You looked at Morton as top 50 and Cross outside the top 200, but Archie and his staff are obviously constantly evaluating potential players. By the time they offered Cross and Morton committed to Purdue, their evaluations had gone in completely different directions.  

Also, I'm not saying that we should put full faith in recruiting rankings, but Cross is ranked significantly higher than Leal or Galloway. Why would Archie prioritize those guys and then see if he can find a fit for the best player of the 3?

[Hoosierfan2017]

1 hour ago, KzooHoosier82 said:

I said the optics of losing out on a kid who was supposedly his top target to Purdue of all schools, then to move in on a kid who’s ranked out of the top 200 and doesn’t fill any current need looks desperate,...and I stand by that. Just because one ranking site all the sudden thinks this kid is a top 100 talent based presumably on the fact that he’s the best player on an awful AAU team doesn’t change my statement then, nor does it impact my opinion now. I’m sure Cross is a heck of a kid and could be a solid four year role player at IU but with only two guaranteed open scholarships, coupled with the fact that this kid says he wants to commit before the start the of season, I would think Archie would be going full court press on Love, Leal and/or Galloway. As I stated before, my opinion is we should focus on Love and Leal and if we have room for a kid like Cross take him down the road. 

Why should we go full court press on Leal and Galloway over Cross? I don't know why Cross shot up the rankings, but given that the people putting together these lists do it for a living, I'm guessing there's more to it than being "the best player on a crappy AAU team".

Your opinion before was based off his ranking, but now that his ranking has improved 100+ spots, it doesn't mean much? Why not? This isn't Archie pulling a Crean and offering a Tim Priller type of player. Cross is a solid player who brings some of the personality traits, such as toughness, that we've been wanting in IU basketball players. Rankings aren't everything, and just because he's top 100 now doesn't guarantee he's going to be a good college player, but it does show that he's not a recruit Archie is reaching for because he's getting desperate. 

[KzooHoosier82]

Just now, Hoosierfan2017 said:

Why should we go full court press on Leal and Galloway? I don't know why Cross shot up the rankings, but given that the people putting together these lists do it for a leaving, I'm guessing there's more to it than being "the best player on a crappy AAU team".

Your opinion before was based off his ranking, but now that his ranking has improved 100+ spots, it doesn't mean much? Why not? This isn't Archie pulling a Crean and offering a Tim Priller type of player. Cross is a solid player who brings some of the personality traits, such as toughness, that we've been wanting in IU basketball players. Rankings aren't everything, and just because he's top 100 now doesn't guarantee he's going to be a good college player, but it does show that he's not a recruit Archie is reaching for because he's getting desperate. 

My opinion of Cross was based on his attributes (position, size, athletic ability, outside shot). My only comment on the ranking was the optics of such after having just been rejected by Morton. I couldn’t care less where he’s ranked. We need guards who can shoot and distribute. This guy wont see the floor until his junior year if ever...assuming he even comes to IU. “Rankings aren’t everything” but his recent rise in 247’s rankings were literally your only argument as to why you disagreed with my original post. As it stands he’a in Syracuse, UConn and Boston College’s backyard and doesn’t have an offer from any of em. Boy I sure hope Archie can find a way to out recruit UMass and Penn St. FOH...

[Stromboli]

14 minutes ago, Free Jurkin! said:

The optics look bad to a bunch of people who don't know anything. I'm not taking a shot at anyone in particular, but nobody on this board really knows how these recruits are performing in terms of rising and falling throughout the year until these lists come out, other than some random anecdotes we hear from the Evan Daniels and Brian Snows of the world. ...

Nah. You all have access to the Summerball Talent Rating and Observation Metric (the S.T.R.O.M.), which accurately predicted both the rise of Cross and the fall of Morton.