McDonald's Nuggets: FSU shines in NBA Draft; Fletcher Loyer; more
Florida State should gain momentum from this week's NBA Draft. We go more in depht on that and give an update on Fletcher Loyer’s upcoming decision plus a Commit of the Week.
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MORE: How first-round NBA picks were ranked as prospects
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team
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WHAT’S ON MY MIND: Florida State gets a boost from NBA Draft
The NBA Draft is often used as a huge recruiting tool for the top programs with players getting picked to play at the highest level. In a typical year, you’ll see some of the top coaches make their way to New York City to support their players and get face time on ESPN’s coverage of the event.
So which program should see the biggest boost coming out of this year’s NBA Draft? That’d be Leonard Hamilton’s Florida State Seminoles. Georgia should be able to capitalize on Anthony Edwards going No. 1 and Penny Hardaway shouldn’t have a problem selling James Wiseman going behind him, but we all expected them to go at the top when we put out last year’s rankings.
In the 2019 Rivals150, Patrick Williams finished at No. 20 overall. It’s not a huge surprise to see a former five-star get picked in the first round after a year, but it doesn’t usually happen when a prospect outside the top 10 gets picked at No. 4 as a one-and-done. The Seminoles coaching staff did a terrific job of developing Williams and finding a role for him to play to his strengths. This is also a credit to Williams, who always seems to get a little better with his strong work ethic.
That’s not where it ends for Florida State. You know what’s even more out of the ordinary than the No. 20 prospect getting picked fourth overall after a year? An unranked, three-star prospect with no other high-major offers getting picked 11th overall after his sophomore year. That’s exactly what just happened with Devin Vassell. The 6-foot-7 wing arrived in Tallahassee with a ton of natural ability that needed to be refined and a lanky frame that needed to add some muscle. Credit assistant coach Charlton Young for nailing the evaluation process with Vassell and also bringing him along to where he’s a lottery pick halfway through his college eligibility.
The player development pitch just got a whole lot easier for Hamilton and his staff going forward.
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RECRUITING NOTE: One of the top shooters in the 2022 class nears a decision
Fletcher Loyer is set to come off the board with his decision Monday. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard out of Indiana, who is the younger brother of Michigan State point guard Foster Loyer, will be choosing from a list that includes Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Purdue and Utah. Just a few days away from his decision, the Boilermakers appear to be the program with the most momentum for Loyer, who is one of the best pure shooters in the 2022 class. The Rivals150 prospect has been on campus at Purdue multiple times and has family ties to the school through his mother, who is a former coach for the Boilermakers volleyball team. Notre Dame is one to watch here as well.
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STAT OF THE WEEK: “Football schools” dominate “bluebloods” in draft lottery
Add this to the many strange things that have happened in 2020. The following schools had lottery picks in the NBA Draft on Wednesday night: Georgia, Memphis, Florida State (2), Auburn, USC, Dayton, Maryland, Iowa State, Alabama and Vanderbilt. The following schools did not have players picked in lottery range: Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA.
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2021 COMMIT OF THE WEEK: Roosevelt Wheeler to Louisville
Louisville finished the Early Signing Period for the 2021 class with a bang as the Cardinals added one of the top post players in the class in Roosevelt Wheeler. There was some pull for the Virginia native to consider staying home to play for VCU, and NC State and LSU were also options, but the four-star center opted for Louisville.
Chris Mack has recruited big men like Wheeler in the past, going back to his time at Xavier. Wheeler is a big, strong 6-foot-10 center who can control the paint with his size, strength and nastiness. He’s made a ton of progress on the offensive end and that should continue as he gets to work with assistant coach Mike Pegues the next few years.