http://zagsblog.com/articles/lauri-markkanen-set-to-visit-utah-north-carolina-arizona/
We get his second of the three visits ....
We get his second of the three visits ....
Lauri set to visit the Hill
- Thread starter keysersosay#1
- Start date
Yeah, sure wish we could have gotten the last visit on the 23rd for LNWR, so he could also see our Football team whoop up on Uwe-Vee-Aye! He'll be in Tucson for their Red-Blue game. Luckily, their FB team will be in Colorado and the B-ball game had to be moved up to 1PM so the fans can go park in front of their TV's.
A few scouts have said that if he was American he'd be a top 25 prospect. So I'm not worried at all about his talent or ranking from any site.
Don't have a great feeling anymore. He seems to care more about being there for Zona's big event rather than LNWR. Also, very mum on the in-home from Roy which is where we usually win recruits.
I could (and probably am) over analyzing and hope that I am.
Don't have a great feeling anymore. He seems to care more about being there for Zona's big event rather than LNWR. Also, very mum on the in-home from Roy which is where we usually win recruits.
I could (and probably am) over analyzing and hope that I am.
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As others have noted, the guy is 18 years old....so he is coming for an OV, then the early reports on the in-home were on point, in that, it was a very good in-home. This may be another situation where a kid wants to do the visits, see other campuses and to enjoy the "process". 
Think you might be over analyzing. He's flying in from Europe with a set plan so at this stage I'd say all three schools are in the mix.
Yeah, it'd be nice to have the last visit but in this case I don't think it's as important.
As for the talent level, I also believe he'd be top 25 and a 5* if he was stateside.
I have a feeling this kid could be the real deal, I have no doubts he's a 5* if he played in the states..he's our most important recruit, in my opinion
We need to get a commitment from Lauri because he is a great player in the making. All of our recruits are important for one reason or another. Still would like to get Seventh if he wants to play for UNC as well. Hope that this visit, this weekend, goes great...
he seems to be one and done which is bad I think, it will take him a year to adjust to American basketball. He is projected 15 on draft boards and likely one of Pinson and Jackson will go with him?
I have a good enough feeling for the both of us then, I will be shocked if we don't get this kid.
Noticed someone mentioned they thought he was a one & done, I don't think so, he will have to adjust to the different style and the athletism of the game played here. I think he may struggle some what as a freshman, maybe a bit more for example than Jackson did last season. He is a 4 and I feel like he really will need to work on his back to the basket game but the kid does have a huge upside.
I concur Dave. And if he plays so well as a Freshman that he's a lottery pick, it will only help our perception with top talent. He doesn't appear to be a guy that is set on leaving after one year though. I think he has more of a Barnes mentality.
like I said before I am crossing fingers, toes ,eyes ,anything in the hope we get this young man
http://northcarolina.scout.com/story/1592837-roy-williams-meets-with-markkanen
I guess you need an subscription. I was able to read it when the article first came out on my team stream app. Basically he talked about how he felt comfortable with Roy and how he can PT right away. It sounded great.
Some draft boards are a bit above scum to me this far out... No one knows what type of freshman season anyone will have NEXT YEAR... Aside from that I do believe that we first need a recruit's signature (thus any recruits signature; commitment) before we even need to bite that rabbit. Now chasing that rabbit is a whole different story to those who are actually thinking...
Not at all. Most of us expect Justin to already be gone by then. If Theo isn't NBA-ready after 3 years we'll be surprised.
So the only questionable prediction there is that Lauri could be OAD.
If we are actually talking about a kid who would be top-20 or top-30, it's not all that unreasonable that he could be OAD. Especially for a big who already shows that much range and mobility as a HS junior. Assuming ordinary improvement in his HS senior and college freshman years, bigs like that can go pro pretty much any time they want, if their frosh season doesn't reveal serious issues.
Now of course that is based on the current chatter that he really is a top level talent. Hard to know for sure if that's true. For a while people were treating him as though he was barely in the top-100. So saying he's actually top-25 when he hasn't played against the best US competition (as far as I know) could be jumping the gun.
I haven't seen his game but I know I would never be against another talented player on the squad. Hope we get him and maybe one other this year.
No. Not in this system, UNLESS he pulls a JP. The reality is SG's in this system have to be knockdown shooters in order to be successful. There's just not enough open real estate in the lane to drive for guys who are primarily slashers like Theo is. Our bigs clog the lanes and don't allow very much space for wings to drive to the lane. So, success of our SG's is almost solely determined by their ability to knock down open shots from the 3 point line or the mid range jump shot. If we ran more of a motion set, where bigs are moving around more and actually create lanes for driving(ala Duke), I would say "maybe", but not with the current half court set we run.
There's plenty of room in the lane, Paige finished at NCState--JP finished many times, problem is we haven't had the aggressive finisher in a while--lets get back to our biggest recruit that hasn't committed...yet
Nope. JP's problem was due to that exact reason. I've watched him and every other SG we've had (save for Dex) get "stuck" trying to make space where there was no space. It has happened to EVERY SG we ever had under Roy, including his most successful SG's Ellington and DGreen. The only way they were able to thrive was because of their abilities to knock down shots. That's where 80%f both of their buckets came from. Paige and other "Point Guards" (Lawson, Felton) not SG's have had success because they all were exceptional talents who created plays for themselves outside of Roys system.
Ridiculous! All of the guys you mentioned flourished under Roy's system because he designed plays to get them looks. McCants, Ellington, Green, Lawson, and Felton all had specific plays designed to get them lanes to the basket with options to pass or step back for shots. In fact our Secondary break which starts all of our offensive sets is designed with a big that trails to the high post and then he can shoot or pass. The lanes are wide open for slashers. In our half court O this year we play inside out but there is plenty of room for drivers, Paige, Britt, JPT, and others drove a lot last year, what were you watching?
Back to Lauri! I really think this stretch 4 is the perfect compliment to our system. I love his skill set and really hope he comes to the Hill!
Back to Lauri! I really think this stretch 4 is the perfect compliment to our system. I love his skill set and really hope he comes to the Hill!
Nope, you're wrong on all counts.....again! lol
And if you are so confident, I'll bet you $50 Theo never averages more than 9 ppg over his entire career here. And to even get to that he'll have to have 15-20 pt games against the likes of Wofford and Fairfield.
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Lauri is coming Tuesday after spending today In SLC. What does any of this other crap have to do with this thread? Supposed to be beautiful & 75 on the Hill! What a great time of year to visit. Coeds walking through campus with the leaves turning. Who wouldn't want to be here. Beats the heck out of Tuscon & SLC. I know we got stuck with a midweek visit, but the Utes beat Cal on Saturday before Lauri arrived and the Wildcats are playing in Colorado next Saturday night which caused them to move the Blue-Red game to 1PM. Tuscon will be dead Saturday night with everyone glued to their TVs. Ol'Roy coached his dad and I like our chances.
100%
Thanks for getting it back on topic - Lauri.
Now let's hope Roy (or those coeds you mentioned) convince him.
Sorry, I know we want to get rid of this trolling but... Let's make the bet $5,000 and we have a deal.
Midweek is fine when it comes to Lauri! Kid is coming from Finland and squeezing all his official visits in one week! I'm confident
You make some good points, but I was looking at it from a different angle.
A lot of us have compared Theo with JP. Similar athleticism, similar skill set. But the sense was that he was somewhat ahead of JP in development. Theo as a frosh was looking more like JP as a soph. Hard to know if that's still true after the injury. If he has not been permanently set back, it seems plausible to think he'll be quite good.
