Louisville basketball’s Chris Mack has set his eyes on an elite and versatile wing out of Washington D.C. What would he bring to the table for the Cards?
The 2019-20 basketball season is over, which means we are on to the heart of AAU season and the first of several live recruiting periods for college basketball coaches. With the 2019 class in the books for Chris Mack and Louisville basketball, the second year coach has now turned his full attention to the class of 2020.
We’ve already talked a bit about who the Cards are after in the class of 2020, and there have been plenty more pieces out there with all the names. But all you have to do to find out who is at the top of the list for Coach Mack and his staff is pay attention to what events they are at, how many times they watch a player, and if and when official campus visits or in-home visits take place.
One player who the Cards will visit this week is 2020 forward Earl Timberlake. The four-star wing who hails from Washington, D.C. and plays at one of the most well known high schools in all of the country, DeMatha High.
According to Jeff Greer of the Athletic, Chris Mack and Mike Pegues will make the trip to D.C. to visit Earl Timberlake for an in-home visit. While you can’t always assume things, typically players only make in-home visits with programs who have a legitimate chance to land their services.
While I have no insider information, it seems likely that after watching the combo guard play on the Nike AAU circuit in Atlanta this past weekend, the Cards will stop in to visit Timberlake to one, continue to build a relationship with the talented guard, but most importantly to extend a scholarship offer – something they’ve yet to do according to Stockrisers.com’s Jake Weingarten.
Timberlake is currently rated as the 9th best shooting guard, and the second best player in the state of Maryland, according to 247 Sports and is the 39th best player in the country. At 6’6″ 215 pounds, Timberlake is a big guard who has the ability to play both the two and the three at the next level.
While he’s still got a lot of work to do on his game, it’s not surprising to see why Mack and the Cards are hot after Timberlake. First off, he’s a great shooter. At 6’6″ he’s got great height and ability to get his release off at all three levels over smaller defenders at the guard position. He shows a great ability to be able to get past defenders off the bounce, and either taking it to the rim strong or pulling up for a mid-range jumper.
Defensively, he’s a dog, which is exactly what Mack is looking for at that wing spot. When you watch him he’s got a great mix of the athleticism of V.J. King and the toughness and tenacity of Dwayne Sutton.
Getting a commitment won’t be easy for Chris Mack, however. Timberlake currently holds over 20 offers from programs around the country including Georgetown, Providence, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Alabama, Seton Hall, and plenty of others.
If offered, don’t be surprised to see the Cards do everything in their power to get Timberlake on campus, as he specifically mentioned back February that he wanted to check out the Louisville campus.
We’ll have a better understanding of where the Cards and Timberlake stand if an offer is extended during the visit. If it is, Timberlake is a recruit who could make a huge difference as a wing playing for Louisville.