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Louisville Basketball Recruiting: Inside a Big Recruiting Week for Coach Mack

By Jacob Lane

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Chris Mack has a big week planned for Louisville basketball recruiting. Several elite recruits will be on campus for visits.

Louisville basketball recruiting has been an extremely hot topic around these parts over the last few months, as fans have been desperately craving news on the latest and greatest prospect and the Cards chances of landing them.

With Louisville having five+ open scholarships for 2019-20, they are making their first real class a priority, casting a wide net to find the next great Louisville stars. With everyday being important to Mack, a coach tasked with recruiting through plenty of challenges, Louisville fans are beginning to see just how special of a coach Athletic Director Vince Tyra landed.

Chris Mack and his staff have been on fire since landing the commitment from 2019 four star guard Josh Nickelberry last month. They have received multiple visits from big time players in both the 2019 and 2020 classes, signifying they are making an impact on the recruiting trail. But no week has been more loaded with talent on campus than this week.

Several elite and I mean, really elite, kids are taking visits to Louisville this week, so now is a perfect time to give you the inside of who these players are.

Here’s a little more info on your list of visitors.

Rocket Watts – PG/SG

Class of 2019

Louisville received a visit earlier this week from Mark “Rocket” Watts (we will call him Rocket), one of the best guards in the entire class of 2019. Watts is a 6’3 combo guard from Detroit, Mi, who is currently a four star prospect, ranked as the 67th best player in the country according to Rivals 150 rankings.

https://twitter.com/kingJay79/status/1011662027050442752

Chris Mack and Luke Murray have targeted the stand out guard, who currently plays for The Family on the Nike EYBL circuit, even traveling to Canada last month to watch him play for USA Basketball Men’s U18 Team in the FIBA Americas U18 Championships.

Watts received one of the very first offers from Mack after taking the job at Louisville back in March, and has felt the love since. Though Watts recently told the Detroit News that he plans on taking his recruitment process slow, you’d have to believe that Louisville is likely at the top of the list.

The four star guard would bring dynamic scoring ability to Louisville, and the perfect guard for Mack’s system. Watts is extremely quick, and has a knack for getting buckets, averaging over 25 points per game as a junior at Old Redford Academy. The senior guard also averaged a team high 6.2 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game.

Last month 247 Sports recruiting expert Evan Daniels spoke with Watts about his recruitment and Louisville specifically, Watts had this to say:

"“Really, coach Mack at Xavier let his guards play. I really don’t know too much about the program and stuff like that. I know they got into a little trouble but I know coach Mack is a good coach.”"

Watts currently has offers from Alabama, Marquette, Cincinnati, Alabama, Xavier, Michigan, Michigan State and several others.

Isaiah Jackson – PF

Class of 2020

Tagging along with Rocket Watts was Old Redford High School teammate Isaiah Jackson, a four star power forward in the class of 2020.

While on his first unofficial visit to Louisville, Jackson received an offer from Coach Mack and the Cards.

https://twitter.com/IJackson22/status/1011780920695812098

The 6’9, 190 pound junior is ranked as the 25th best player in the class of 2020 according to Rivals.com. He currently has offers from Michigan State, Florida State, UConn, Missouri, and Creighton.

The Old Redford (Detroit, MI) product looks to be a big time rebounder, and shot blocker with a lot of raw abilities. His athletic ability is what instantly jumps out when watching his highlight videos. With another two years in high school, Chris Mack and his staff will have plenty of time to woe the big time forward prospect.

Aidan Ighiebo – C

Class of 2019

Louisville fans, please try to not freak out. But the Cards are firmly in the mix for five star center Aidan Ighiebo, who could wind up being the top big man in the class of 2019 when it’s all said and done.

Ighiebo released his top 10 via Twitter on Monday night, which included Chris Mack and the Cardinals, only to find out that Louisville would be receiving their first visit from the elite big man on Thursday (according to Evan Daniels).

Though I am no recruiting expert, it is obvious that Chris Mack, Luke Murray and company have made the Dublin, Ireland native a top priority, if not the top priority in the class of 2019. Make no mistake about it, that’s a smart decision.

Mack was hot after Ighiebo back at Xavier, and carried that over after taking the job at Louisville. As I’ve mentioned several times over the last two months, Mack having pre-existing relationships with top recruits has paid huge dividends for the University of Louisville. With all the hustle and bustle about potential NCAA investigations down the road, Mack has used relationships and his resume to keep recruits intrigued with Louisville.

More from Louisville basketball recruiting

The five star center told 247 Sports Evan Daniels, “It’s Chris Mack and coach Murray at Louisville, they have been recruiting me since Xavier and they told me they didn’t think they had a chance to get me there. They were off and on but as soon as they got to Louisville they have treated me as a priority. I know they are a great coaching staff and I am excited to see what they have to say.”

Ighiebo has been on record saying that he wants to make a decision this fall after using up all four of his official visits. Though his visit to Louisville is just an unofficial, this could go a long long long way in helping the Cards land the elite big man.

Louisville has struggled to rebound shots over the past few years, and landing a guy like Ighiebo, especially under the coaching of Mike Pegues and Chris Mack, could be huge in improving that statistical category in the future.

https://twitter.com/overtime/status/997872728563732480

Samuell Williamson – SF

Class of 2019

Another big time 2019 prospect making a visit to Louisville this week (today actually) is 6’6 wing/forward Samuell Williamson.

The four star, Rockwall, TX native, currently holds offers from some blue blood programs including Kansas, Oregon, Texas, USC, and Florida, and seems to be hearing a lot from Chris Mack and Louisville.

Williamson received an offer from the Cards back in early May, after a strong showing on the AAU circuit, and since then has been hearing a lot from Louisville, leading to a visit to campus.

He is currently ranked as the 44th best player in the class of 2019, and is considered to be one of the most versatile players in the class, who truly could play just about any position.

This is one of the biggest recruiting weeks in recent memory for the Cards, and should show skeptical Louisville fans just how much potential Chris Mack has in this area for Louisville. While these are all considered to “unofficial” visits, as mentioned, this could go a very very long way in helping Mack get some official visits and eventually land recruits in the class of 2019.

Louisville’s only ’19 commit, Josh Nickelberry, has been a huge player in recruiting his fellow AAU teammates and opponents, and I think you can see that beginning to pay off. 2019 could wind up being a very special class for Chris Mack and the Cards.

Next: Chris Mack Going After Talented Big Men for Louisville in 2019

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