A few days ago, the recruitment of Mitch McGary (Chesterton, Ind./Brewster Academy) looked like it was coming to a conclusion. The information that came across my desk from multiple sources involved in his recruitment, pointed directly at the University of Michigan. I’ve been doing this a long time and when the talk heads in this direction, the outcome typically follows right on down the road. McGary’s recruitment is nothing, if not atypical.
Michigan, Duke, North Carolina and Florida would have to be considered viable options. You hear less regarding Maryland and Kentucky. Round and round we go, where McGary lands, no one knows. During the Recruiting Nation show Paul Biancardi nailed it. “The thing that is absolutely sure about Mitch McGary is that he’s unsure about where he wants to go.”
In every recruiting scenario there are different voices in a player’s ear. From the parents to the high school, AAU coach or trusted counselor, people are chatting him up. Sometimes those voices are not on the same page and when that happens, the best-laid plans don’t unfold the way some of those voices intended.
With McGary, behind the scenes, there appears to be an internal struggle with which voices to listen to. There are a lot of schools still alive in his recruitment and the direction in which it’s heading can change on a dime.
A few days ago, most of the schools were readying concession speeches as the Wolverines inched closer and closer to locking McGary down. Heading into this weekend, there isn’t a candidate willing to concede its pursuit. Most of McGary’s August list is in play and that means we can’t tell when a decision will be made or which way the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect is leaning.