2022 commits update and discussion thread

haney · March 1, 2022, 10:01pm

Dang, maybe I should’ve paid for this stream:
https://twitter.com/theCBGLive/status/1498779015871614976?s=20&t=3pEbH33gH_GkHYbdFfc8TQ

JoeBoxley · March 1, 2022, 11:12pm

Any idea how it finished? seems like good competition

Papihoo · March 1, 2022, 11:16pm

Just saw Mt. Zion won 73-72.

haney · March 1, 2022, 11:24pm

Yup.
https://twitter.com/perkbasketball/status/1498790171889729537?s=21

Looks like they still have their state semis coming up (potential rematch with Lively’s team in the finals)

Mt Zion is top 5 or so among preps. Perkiomen is borderline top 10. That’s basically the grouping with Montverde, Oak Hill, (I think, though tbh, the prep thing confuses me)

Hoosthechamp · March 2, 2022, 1:49am

Have they got other Div. 1 recruits?

hoopsandhoos · March 2, 2022, 2:19am

Just finished listening to the new Isaac Traudt interview with Schuz on YouTube. I took some notes on what he said that people here might be interested in; a lot of the interview was pretty repetitive, so it wasn’t all gems, but there are definitely a few nuggets of new info.

Takeaways:

His final five were Virginia, Nebraska, Creighton, Michigan State, and Gonzaga (they jumped in late). It ultimately came down to Virginia, Nebraska, and Creighton for him.
He made his decision on August 25, three days before he announced. He called CTB that night. The more he thought about the decision, the more he realized that CTB was the best coach for him on & off the floor. He said they have similar values. Said he really felt like he clicked with Virginia’s style of play, and he already knew some of the other incoming recruits, which also helped seal the deal.
When Traudt called CTB to tell him that he was committing to UVA, CTB screamed, which surprised Traudt because of how laid-back CTB typically is. When he called Getter, it was the same reaction. Everyone on the staff texted him to congratulate him, which surprised Traudt.
Favorite memory with CTB was playing ping pong at his house. CTB has a reputation for being really good at ping-pong, and Isaac thought he was also pretty decent. The two of them played, Tony took an early lead but Isaac came back and won. Then, Tony revealed that he was playing left-handed and he was a righty. Isaac thinks that CTB could beat him playing right-handed.
On how the recruiting class will “bring Virginia back”: It’s gonna take a lot of hard work. Current team is playing like a tournament team, even though they didn’t start the year that way (note: the pod was recorded after the second Duke game). CTB teams always improve over time, and Isaac expects they’ll get back to 1/2/3 seed level while he’s at UVA.
On IsaacSquared: The two started talking in January 2021. When McKneely committed, he reached out and started talking to Traudt directly. He said McKneely was basically recruiting him — “practically a personal assistant to CTB” — and that he did a really nice job. Never pressured Traudt into committing, but let him know that he’d be a great fit at UVA and that he though the two could be great teammates. The two roomed together at a Top 100 camp, and that went a long way in making him and McKneely good friends. Traudt said that he’s looking forward to rooming with McKneely at UVA. He thinks the duo could be really special. They complement each other’s games really well.
Traudt thinks the chemistry in this recruiting class is better than most other recruits at other schools and it’s what makes them special. They’ve had a group chat for a while (Traudt, McKneely, Bond, Dunn) and he thinks their chemistry can set them apart from other recruiting classes which are composed of “guys that just want to go get theirs.” As a group, their main goal is to go win a national championship. Traudt says he knows that the 2019 championship team also had an elite recruiting class; doesn’t want to compare himself to them, though, because he hasn’t won anything yet.
Says that even though he’s a top recruit, he knows that goes out the door the moment he steps on campus, and he’ll have to work to earn a spot and playing time with the team.
His dream school growing up was always Oklahoma — his mom was a big Oklahoma fan, and he loved watching Trae Young.
What does CTB expect your role to be as a freshman? They haven’t talked much about that. CTB doesn’t promise playing time — that’s one of the things Isaac liked about him — and Traudt knows he’ll have to earn it.
Plans to get out to campus around June 17 and be there for the majority of the summer. From the end of his season until then, he’ll be working in the weight room. Biggest thing he wants to improve between now and his freshman season is shooting and lateral quickness; he knows he’ll have to be able to defend if he wants to see playing time, and he sees an opportunity to earn playing time if he’s a good shooter.

Full interview here

AdventiveQuasar · March 2, 2022, 2:31am

Lots of good nuggets in here, but CTB taking the Inigo Montoya in the Princess Bride approach around his ping-pong-handedness is my favorite gem.

Hoos9412 · March 2, 2022, 2:35am

That’s quite the nugget! Was it widely known that Tony is a fake lefty? Crazy to me that the career 3% leader shot them with his off hand!

Vandy-Hoo · March 2, 2022, 2:54am

Love the chemistry between the class. Something special is a-brewin’ …

haney · March 2, 2022, 2:54am

Perkiomen? I know their PG is headed to Princeton. They have a couple ‘23s. I think the other ‘22 guys are more likely low major types (but going on memory).

Hoosthechamp · March 2, 2022, 2:55am

Thanks Haney

DavetheWave · March 2, 2022, 1:04pm

a UNC channel - talking about Traudt last year

4547Lambeth · March 2, 2022, 2:59pm

Yeah, I always thought Tony was a lefty, but admittedly I’ve never seen him write or eat either. Also, I think he might’ve said it as a joke excuse for losing and setting them up to play again. Good bonding stuff and all that.