re: #tAuburnBasketball Thread

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Jake
@jakeweingarten
Significant Jalen Green update: Memphis, Oregon, and Auburn, all have an even shot, a reliable source told @Stockrisers. UCLA also trying to get more involved, looking to nab a visit.

Green has always been intrigued with Daishen Nix.

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Interesting that Auburn is included here. Just last week his own report was he was down to Oregon and Memphis.

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Maybe he'll decommit

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We are still in there for a top 3 class in the nation

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Just spoke with someone close to the UNC coaching staff. This may not differ much from what gets reported tomorrow, but here ya go:

- Walker and family visited along with UNC's 2020 PG1 priority Caleb Love and the families hit it off. Walker's dad (Chad, who played at thUGA) is guiding and speaking for Walker's recruitment and is very candid about doing due dilligence.
- Kesslers are big on academics and Walker wants to major in Business (different direction from his dad and late uncle, BTW) and liked their meeting at UNC's Business school. They also watched pick-up (Walker didn't participate due a sore ankle) and saw the team as well as several UNC legends and pros playing, including Danny Green and Tyler Hansbrough.

- Each school visited has of course laid out their plan to utilize Walker. UNC showed the Kesslers beaucoups film on Luke Maye, which very much appealed to them as Walker sees himself as a Stretch Big (he does have legit 3-pt range).
- UNC already has one 2020 Big (Dayron Sharpe) committed. But while that may seem like a deterrent it's not --- they love the fact hat Roy Williams is one of the few coaches left who prefers to play 2 Bigs together whenever he can. And with Sharpe (who is flat blowing up on the HS/AAU scene) playing more like a traditional 5, the Kesslers see a fit together since Walker can face up. In other words, he won't necessarily get stuck being cast as a one-dimensional 5-man. They also like the fact that at UNC, Bigs are gonna get touches --- in both half-court and transition --- while most programs these days are more Guard/Wing oriented (something they specifically commented on).

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1) The basketball reasons he decided on UNC were all contained in my intel OP, in particular his fit in UNC's traditonal two-Big system (which Roy is determined to return to after not having the healthy personnel for it last season), along with seeing himself as their next Luke Maye. He also likes the idea of playing with Dayron Sharpe.

2) AUNC came on really hard after him over the past month and Roy Williams took the personal lead in his recruitment. Even kids who don't end up there will tell you there's not a more sincere, engaging HC out there than Ol' Roy and they talked regularly about everything, not just basketball.

3) He absolutely fell in love with the campus and Chapel Hill on his visit. It's a great place (as is Auburn --- dook, not so much), but it's also a basketball shrine. The Business school Dean also met with the family and laid out a plan to finish his degree (very important to them) should he decide to leave early for the draft at some point.

4) The family made the trip by car, and as I suspected, the decision was made on the way back to ATL. The UNC staff was genuinely surprised when they got they call from Walker. What I reported in the intel OP was exactly how the UNC staff felt on the Kesslers' departure from the OV. BTW, he also called Bruce, K and Juwan Howard (Michigan) --- Mark Few had apparently already been informed they weren't making the Gonzaga trip --- to let them know of his decision. Interstingly, this is pretty much exactly how Sharpe's surprise early commitment went down last year --- called and surprised Roy as soon as he got home from his OV.

So there it is. Auburn was very much in it until the UNC OV. There's nothing to be ashamed of or to blame anyone for. UNC has certainly lost out on more than it's share of 5*s, especially in recent years. It's big-time basketball recruiting that in this case was by all accounts clean on all ends (which is the exception as opposed to the rule these days). Let's get the next one.

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He showed some different players, but the biggest one he envisioned that Walker could emulate in some ways was Luke Maye. (They see him) doing things like Luke during the year where he came down on the break and shot threes, posted up sometimes, came off picks and hit jumpers, rolled to the basket, and posted up some. He (Maye) was real versatile for them. Their '4' and '5' is interchangeable, it's basically whoever gets down first goes to the block, the other trails, and there’s a lot of touches for their big players. Whereas other schools are far more focused on the smaller players and the wing players. To do those things, Walker has to demonstrate he can shoot it and they believe he’ll be able to well enough in college.

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Walker could emulate in some ways was Luke Maye

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We already lost Boston and now Kessler. Getting a bit concerned. Bruce is good but it has become apparent that we still can’t compete against the likes of he blue bloods quite yet.

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