(2018) PG Robert Phinisee to Cincinnati

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

35 minutes ago, Old Friend said:

I've said for a long time this is an important get for Indiana and Miller.  He is a kid who makes others better, gets the ball to the right spot all the time, and he's as tough as a $2 steak.   As much as I'd love to get Romeo Langford, this kid may be more important for the program because he'll be here 4 years in all likelihood, and I love me some senior point guards.

Getting a commitment from Phinisee would be an excellent way for CAM to signal there's a new sheriff in town and start locking down the state.  Then follow with Jallow and hopefully Langford.

[SteelerHoosier]

First step to locking down the state

[Hoosier Guy]

I predict Phinisee is the first 2018 commit

[hoosierbannerd]

On 4/14/2017 at 5:19 PM, Hoosierfan2017 said:

After living in West Lafayette he's going to take one step on campus and not want to go home. 

Yeah, I think the views of nature (ie..females under 200 lbs) plus lack of a stench; might sway him...

[mdn82]

http://www.insidethehall.com/2017/04/22/phinisee-on-miller-hes-all-about-business/


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[ramadden13]

5 minutes ago, mdn82 said:

http://www.insidethehall.com/2017/04/22/phinisee-on-miller-hes-all-about-business/


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Quote

“I feel like he’s all about business. I feel like he can be your friend off the court and you can talk to him. But once he’s on the court, he’s all about business.”

I love this quote. Also from the article: Phinisee is 6'1 now and intends to make a decision in the fall.

[Bowhunter]

I have a good feeling about this one!

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[Stuhoo]

Hoosier.

[Hoosierfan2017]

I wonder if "It means a lot. The head coach was here,” he said. “He followed through, not just an assistant coach." was a subtle jab at Purdue

[Brass Cannon]

2 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

I wonder if "It means a lot. The head coach was here,” he said. “He followed through, not just an assistant coach." was a subtle jab at Purdue

Probably I have always gotten the impression he was going to the University of Not Purdue. 

[Yogi's Picnic Basket]

I believe Phinisee is ours to lose. I don't think Archie loses him by showing up all weekend and then not seeing him for awhile like "someone" else's approach to in state kids. Hasn't spent a second watching Garland tho. PLENTY of time tho. Really hoping the 3 pgs continue to be high priority so it can lead to Hunter or Rob early with Garland probably waiting until spring.

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[ramadden13]

1 hour ago, Yogi's Picnic Basket said:

I believe Phinisee is ours to lose. I don't think Archie loses him by showing up all weekend and then not seeing him for awhile like "someone" else's approach to in state kids. Hasn't spent a second watching Garland tho. PLENTY of time tho. Really hoping the 3 pgs continue to be high priority so it can lead to Hunter or Rob early with Garland probably waiting until spring.

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It's a tough choice. Stay in Ft. Worth for Romeo/Phinisee or head off for a day to VA for Brooks/Garland? I think spending the whole weekend in Ft. Worth is the right way to go. Especially because it seems Phinisee appreciates it.

[HoosierAloha]

It's a tough choice. Stay in Ft. Worth for Romeo/Phinisee or head off for a day to VA for Brooks/Garland? I think spending the whole weekend in Ft. Worth is the right way to go. Especially because it seems Phinisee appreciates it.

I wouldn't be too upset if CAM landed Romeo/Phinisee in 2018... he'll have another whole summer to stalk Brooks.

[Old Friend]

42 minutes ago, ramadden13 said:

It's a tough choice. Stay in Ft. Worth for Romeo/Phinisee or head off for a day to VA for Brooks/Garland? I think spending the whole weekend in Ft. Worth is the right way to go. Especially because it seems Phinisee appreciates it.

Phinisee is an important get for Miller.  Whatever it takes to land him; he needs to do that.  This is a 4-year point guard.  This is akin to Yogi.  I don't think others are not as important to the next 4-5 years as he is.

[WayneFleekHoosier]

Phinisee is an important get for Miller.  Whatever it takes to land him; he needs to do that.  This is a 4-year point guard.  This is akin to Yogi.  I don't think others are not as important to the next 4-5 years as he is.

Maybe akin to Yogi, but Yogi was better, no?

Yogi was top 20 rated kid by all services and is playing in the NBA now at 5'11.

Garland would be more like getting Yogi.

But yes, he's a solid player from Indiana and would be a recruiting coup.


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[Stuhoo]

Maybe akin to Yogi, but Yogi was better, no?

Yogi was top 20 rated kid by all services and is playing in the NBA now at 5'11.

Garland would be more like getting Yogi.

But yes, he's a solid player from Indiana and would be a recruiting coup.


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Based in my barely knowledgeable, video only take on him, his game reminds me a whole lot of Joel Berry (if things go well for Robert's development).

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Fluff piece from the Lafayette newspaper.  Seems to be well-grounded and not to consumed with himself.

McCutcheon's Phinisee not your normal player

LAFAYETTE — Robert Phinisee knows how good he is.

Don’t expect him to tell you about it, though.

If he doesn’t know just because it’s obvious, he certainly does when kids request autographs or to have their picture taken with the McCutcheon basketball star.

“I am still a kid,” Phinisee said. “I still have to do chores and clean my room. I see myself as a normal kid.”

On the basketball court, Phinisee, the repeat winner of the Journal & Courier Big School Player of the Year honor — is not a normal kid.

Ask Rick Peckinpaugh, who coached at McCutcheon for 32 years and been a head coach for 38 before announcing his retirement earlier this month.

“He is the best player I’ve ever coached,” Peckinpaugh said of the junior point guard. That says a lot about the basketball player.

Those photo requests?

Phinisee grants every one with a smile, even after 32 grueling minutes of basketball and most nights with interviews that followed.

That says a lot about the person.

“That’s what I tell any coach from a college who comes to talk to me about him,” Peckinpaugh said. “That he is the best player I’ve ever coached, but he’s the best person I’ve ever had on the court in terms of his humbleness. He doesn’t worry about his own stats. He just wants to play basketball and do his best, but he wants everyone else to do well, too.”

Big name college coaches come to McCutcheon High School to try to sway Phinisee to play for their basketball program.

Unless provoked, you’ll never hear Phinisee mention a word about it.

“That is so rare. I don’t see that very often in today’s world,” Peckinpaugh said. “All the upside he has and all the college coaches gloating over him and everything in the paper talking about how great he is and he doesn’t act that way. He acts like a normal kid.”

Now to the reason why Phinisee garners so much attention.

He can do it all on the basketball court.

And that’s why he’s not as normal as he’d lead you to believe.

This season, he once had 14 assists in a single game. Another night, he scored 41 points. In a regional game against Carmel, he twice blocked a center under the basket who was 10 inches taller than him and routinely scored over that nearly 7-footer at the basket.

Twice this season he had as many steals as made field goals in a game.

And he can’t get enough of it.

After the season ended in the regional, Phinisee took a week off.

It was his longest break from basketball in quite some time.

His downtime is usually spent dissecting film. Then hitting the gym to get better at every facet. One day relentlessly shooting outside jumpers, knowing in college he will need to expand his range and have a quicker release.

Another day it’s pull-up jumpers.

He can get to the rim with such ease that it is understandable for defenders to overcompensate and try to beat him to the basket, making for an easy 10-footer without a hand in his face.

Deep down, he knows he’s a special talent.

So here’s the question I’ve never asked him until last week.

How good is Robert Phinisee when you watch film?

“I don’t see that,” he said. “I just try to look at things where I can get better, honestly.”

He watches film with Peckinpaugh and the two built a relationship beyond the basketball court. They talk about life and maybe that’s why the point guard-coach compatibility supersedes many you’ll see between a teenager and a man nearing retirement.

Without Peckinpaugh, Phinisee knows things won’t be the same next season, regardless of who the coach is.

“We’re pretty close,” Phinisee said. “He’s been a role model for me on and off the court. It’s really great and we will miss him next year.”

It will be different, but Peckinpaugh knows the next coach will have a successful first season because he’ll have a normal teenager who is anything but a normal basketball player leading the team.

Contact Journal & Courier reporter Sam King at sking@journalandcourier.com

[Old Friend]

3 hours ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

Maybe akin to Yogi, but Yogi was better, no?

Yogi was top 20 rated kid by all services and is playing in the NBA now at 5'11.

Garland would be more like getting Yogi.

But yes, he's a solid player from Indiana and would be a recruiting coup.


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I figured someone would do this.  I did not compare the two, and I think it's impossible to know another player would be "more like" another at this point.  Phinisee is a terrific player - a 4-star kid right now, for what it's worth.  What he will be in college and beyond isn't something anyone can know; but my comment had nothing to do with where kids were ranked (Bracey Wright and Andre Patterson were highly ranked.  Victor Oladipo was not - lower than Phinisee is.  It's 100% irrelevant and predictor of nothing).  

Indiana needs a point guard; needs a player who will make others better; and yeah....needs smart players who know how to play the game and not just the sport.  Phinisee is such a player; and I personally love that he's an Indiana kid. 21 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals per game last season.  52% shooter from the floor.  Not bad. Yogi was better?  Yogi played against far inferior competition in high school.  So..better?  Yogi had a better 4 year career than Phinnisee will have?   Nobody knows that at this point.

[Yogi's Picnic Basket]

Rankings are actually right 75% of the time. The 25% that is left is the 75-150 range of kids which honestly could be decided by some services having a better relationship or seeing the player more. Yogi was only a 4 year player due to his size. Add 4 inches to him and he was a lotto pick. He was a rare 5 star that wasn't on many NBA radars right away due to his size only though.

Phinisee is a completely different case and I get what some mean by having a Yogi effect on the program. I feel like the best comparison for me of Phinisee is Charlie Moore. Moore was a little shorter but they remind me exactly of the other. Phinisee is a must get, but if we have a shot at Garland he needs to be top priority. With Phinisee being a in state kid it makes Archie's job in this scenario very easy. He can see Rob without taking up a lot of time and yet still make Garland feel like a priority as well. Garland reminds me of Nigel Williams Goss so much.

Looks like Romeo is our top priority right now though and Archie has made that clear and I love it.

Wrap up Rob and Jallow and finish off with whatever makes sense.

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[ap2345]

I'm assuming that Archie is going to be following the Adidas circuit because he said he would be at every one of Romeo's games this summer. This will also allow him to be at all of Phinisee's as well. I think next week however both UA and Nike are in Indiana at Fishers and Westfield so I'm sure most of the staff will be moving between the 2 spots. That will be a good chance for Archie to check out Garland, Brooks, Watford and others.