I'm guessing we are still in on him. But from Twitter lately it sounds like the Watson kid from Minnesota is the top priority. He has grown to 6'8 as a wing.
****Official Class of 2022 Recruiting Thread****
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Wow, so his ISU interest might not last much longer if Duke and Kentucky and the like start offering.
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I'd guess ISU's interest won't change even if the blue bloods do start calling. The staff has already identified him as priority and with only 1 (maybe 2) spots left they are alreay focused on a small number of prospects. There is obvious mutual interest to get the Official Visit from Black thus a legit player in getting his commitment. No reason to back off due to a call from Coach Cal.
His interest, not ISU's interest. And they haven't offered yet. But if he starts getting serious offers from the Zags and Kentucky etc, he isn't going to ISU.
I mean, Tyrese Hunter just signed with ISU and is much higher ranked thant Black. TJ re-recruited him to keep his commitment in a month. no reason to say a player won't come to ISU due to a KU/UK type offer.
The staff will have a good feel after his visit in his interest and we'll know if he's a legit possibility later this summer.
I’m pretty sure Black’s ranking is expected to go much higher. Closer to 5 star status.
We were lucky he committed early. He really didn't blow up until after committing not allowing coaches to legally inquire. (They still do), but having limited recruitment vs full blown recruitment from those schools are 2 very different things.
Recruiting is like a "choose-your-adventure" book based on how optimistic or pessimistic you are.
Duke may not be as difficult to recruit against now that Coach K is on his farewell tour. Kentucky will always be tough, since they still get 3 players drafted despite the lack of recent success.
Gonzaga has the on-court success, but we have done historically better getting players drafted.
With some players taking the G-League option and with everyone coming off a Covid year, it will be interesting to see how the recruiting landscape changes over the next few years. I won't bet against TJ until he gives me reason to. He won't win them all, but he's doing a lot of things right so far.
Duke may not be as difficult to recruit against now that Coach K is on his farewell tour. Kentucky will always be tough, since they still get 3 players drafted despite the lack of recent success.
Gonzaga has the on-court success, but we have done historically better getting players drafted.
With some players taking the G-League option and with everyone coming off a Covid year, it will be interesting to see how the recruiting landscape changes over the next few years. I won't bet against TJ until he gives me reason to. He won't win them all, but he's doing a lot of things right so far.
Jalen Suggs is going top 3 this year from Gonzaga, so not sure that narrative fits.
Aaron F'in' CraftYou may be right. I've always liked the Aaron Craft comparison (hopefully Lipsey will be a better shooter) and he was just inside the top 100 in rank. I would have thought he would have been higher.
Aaron Craft, Ohio State Buckeyes, Point Guard
[b]2012-2013/Junior:[/b] Started all 37 games at point guard... Averaged 10 points, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game... Broke Jay Burson's all-time Ohio...247sports.com
I'm just making a counter-point. We have historically had more players drafted than Gonzaga.
I'll concede that dredging up draft stats from 20+ years ago is a little self-serving, so I'll go back to 2000. Gonzaga has had 12 players drafted to our 11. Since 2010, they have 7 to our 6 (also 5 first rounders to our 2).
Given their amount of success compared to ours, a one player advantage in a decade isn't significant enough to sway my optimism and say that if Gonzaga comes calling, we're immediately out of it. Harder, sure. Impossible? Naw.
I personally don't care how someone chooses to view a recruiting battle and I'm not trying to change your opinion. I didn't even quote you to single you out. I agree with what you said earlier about getting in on Hunter early.
I can be realistic and optimistic at the same time.
I hope you don't think I was just calling you out. With Gonzaga's success that is going to be a really tough hill to climb if they offer and put effort in. If Gonzaga makes him a priority I think they win 95% of the time over teams like Iowa State.
Nah, we're good. It'll be an uphill battle against some, but I'm excited to see what TJ and his staff can do once they get a season under their belt.
