Talen Horton-Tucker - hard to get a read...

[scru]

Reading the latest blog posts and stories out on THT, it is hard to get a read on where he is at in his recruiting. Seems he is currently on a mid-west swing having stopped off at (at least) Illinois, Ohio State (got an offer), and Xavier (got an offer). Not sure if he also stopped by Purdue and Toledo. Mixed reports on whether Purdue offered or not. Some stories seem to indicate that he is looking to perform at a high level this summer to garner some more high-major offers. But, he says that he is looking for a "family environment" and somewhere that he can contribute right away and develop towards the next level. I definitely think that every recruit should take their time, explore their options, and consider what is best for them before making a decision. But, THT appears to be looking for something more. Perhaps I'm misreading that.

According to a pretty biased report out there, Underwood has made THT a high priority in their 2018 recruiting, contacting him daily since making an offer. This is a change in direction from Groce who apparently was not really pursuing THT.

I can't find any indication of a time frame for him making a decision or even narrowing down his list. However, his stock does appear to be on the rise right now.

 

[lunker35]

I love the way he plays and I want him in purple as much as any recruits out there. We need more CPS kids and he'd be an amazing addition to the program.

 

[rwhitney014]

I'm on record saying that he's the key to the class. Some of that had to do with his relationship with Baldwin, which is obviously moot now (though I wouldn't be surprised if Pat, "recruiting" him to Milwaukee, gave him an if-not-here talk or two).

What's more, with Nance in the fold, I get the feeling these two would complement each other really well. He's got every right to do his due diligence, but I seriously hope he lands here.

 

[Deeringfish]

Do coaches ever change their recruiting strategies strategically to compete with other key schools? What I mean is this: if a player (in this case THT), is generally an attractive talent and a key rival (NU) would benefit greatly because the player was a perfect fit to the system or with other players in the class, would the rival (Illinois) school turn up the pressure to secure that player as a defensive recruiting ploy?

 

[hdhntr1]

Reading the latest blog posts and stories out on THT, it is hard to get a read on where he is at in his recruiting. Seems he is currently on a mid-west swing having stopped off at (at least) Illinois, Ohio State (got an offer), and Xavier (got an offer). Not sure if he also stopped by Purdue and Toledo. Mixed reports on whether Purdue offered or not. Some stories seem to indicate that he is looking to perform at a high level this summer to garner some more high-major offers. But, he says that he is looking for a "family environment" and somewhere that he can contribute right away and develop towards the next level. I definitely think that every recruit should take their time, explore their options, and consider what is best for them before making a decision. But, THT appears to be looking for something more. Perhaps I'm misreading that.

According to a pretty biased report out there, Underwood has made THT a high priority in their 2018 recruiting, contacting him daily since making an offer. This is a change in direction from Groce who apparently was not really pursuing THT.

I can't find any indication of a time frame for him making a decision or even narrowing down his list. However, his stock does appear to be on the rise right now.

So are you saying he wants his hat dance?

 

[FitzFan]

Reading the latest blog posts and stories out on THT, it is hard to get a read on where he is at in his recruiting. Seems he is currently on a mid-west swing having stopped off at (at least) Illinois, Ohio State (got an offer), and Xavier (got an offer). Not sure if he also stopped by Purdue and Toledo. Mixed reports on whether Purdue offered or not. Some stories seem to indicate that he is looking to perform at a high level this summer to garner some more high-major offers. But, he says that he is looking for a "family environment" and somewhere that he can contribute right away and develop towards the next level. I definitely think that every recruit should take their time, explore their options, and consider what is best for them before making a decision. But, THT appears to be looking for something more. Perhaps I'm misreading that.

According to a pretty biased report out there, Underwood has made THT a high priority in their 2018 recruiting, contacting him daily since making an offer. This is a change in direction from Groce who apparently was not really pursuing THT.

I can't find any indication of a time frame for him making a decision or even narrowing down his list. However, his stock does appear to be on the rise right now.

I don't think he made it to his last unofficial at Illinois. Not sure what the reason for the cancellation was, but I doubt that it had anything to do with his opinion of the school. He's probably been to Chambana a couple of times by this point. Also saw that he wanted to decide by the beginning of the school year. I'll look for a source on that...

I'm guessing it comes down to NU, Illinois, and one of his other offers (Xavier would be my guess unless another high-profile program gets in the game).

 

[rwhitney014]

Do coaches ever change their recruiting strategies strategically to compete with other key schools? What I mean is this: if a player (in this case THT), is generally an attractive talent and a key rival (NU) would benefit greatly because the player was a perfect fit to the system or with other players in the class, would the rival (Illinois) school turn up the pressure to secure that player as a defensive recruiting ploy?

Can't say definitively, but my guess is there aren't enough roster/scholarship slots to do that, and good players can be bad fits in basketball in ways that may not be as exacerbated in football.

Recruiting a player that's a bad fit just as a defensive ploy could also sour relationships with coaches/AAU programs. If that's the strategy, the coaches are probably lying to the player about how they would use him. He ends up being disgruntled, the program suffers, the player leaves, and the next time a player from that program who is a good fit comes around, the coaches steer him away.

 

[scru]

So are you saying he wants his hat dance?

No, I'm definitely not saying that. There is no indication that he is trying to make a big deal out of his own recruitment. Perhaps it is simply seeing what offers he is capable of obtaining. There's nothing wrong with that, IMO. However, CCC has shown that he will cut off the recruitment of a player if another with an offer takes the roster spot (i.e. Ayo when Lathon committed). Same practice holds with Fitz. It makes sense, in my mind. I hope THT doesn't wait too long to make a decision and perhaps miss the opportunity to join the Cats. I'd like to see him in Purple.

 

[NUCat320]

So are you saying he wants his hat dance?

I'm not sure CCC has come out as anti-hat dance, has he?

 

[Deeringfish]

I'm not sure CCC has come out as anti-hat dance, has he?

I hope not. Just cause us old fart fans think it is vain and self centered, a coach would lose a player or so over his career just because they are young and enthusiastic.

 

[Gocatsgo2003]

I hope not. Just cause us old fart fans think it is vain and self centered, a coach would lose a player or so over his career just because they are young and enthusiastic.

Collins probably experienced a hat dance or two during his time at Duke.