It’s a big weekend for Cardinal athletics, as both Louisville basketball and Louisville football will host big-time recruits in the class of 2020.
Earlier this month we wrote about Louisville basketball extending an offer to five-star big man Hunter Dickinson, a prospect that 247 Sports ranks as the 22nd best player in the class of 2020.
It wasn’t hard to see why Chris Mack and the Louisville basketball program were pursuing Dickinson, who holds offers from the who’s who of college basketball. First off his size is off the charts.. literally. The soon to be senior center is 7’2″ 255 pounds at just 17 years old and possesses the ability to move well for being a giant.
His game is nice, plain and simple. He’s got great touch around the rim, shows the ability to step out and shoot the ball from mid-range, and protects the rim like a collegiate veteran – a skill that Louisville is missing on the current roster.
But what could end up playing the biggest role in the recruitment of Dickinson is his relationships with the Louisville staff. We’ve detailed a bit this summer how Mike Pegues is leading the way in recruiting Earl Timberlake, a D.C. area standout who just so happens to star at the same school Pegues did back in the day, DeMatha Catholic. Funny enough, Dickinson is a teammate of Timberlake, and also is being recruited by Pegues, a coach who knows a thing or two about dominating at DeMatha and moving on to have a successful playing career. Dickinson was quoted by Jody Demling of Cardinal Authority as saying,
"“Mike Pegues is a DeMatha guy, so he has been recruiting me since I was in the eighth grade. So, coach Mack has been looking at me since he was at Xavier. When he was at Xavier, they would always come to my games."
Less than a month after receiving a Louisville offer, Dickinson will take his first official visit to Floyd Street this weekend, where he’ll get a tour of the campus, get to meet the players and potentially his future teammates, and learn more about what his role would be if he decided to be a Card.
"“I want to go check it out and see what it’s like at Louisville. I want to see the campus, see their facilities, talk to the coaches more and meet some of the players. I want to check it out and see the campus vibe.”"
Mack has been a great big man coach during his time at Xavier and we saw glimpses of that at Louisville in his first season with the progress made in the games of Steven Enoch and Malik Williams, two underdeveloped big men. But with Dickinson, there’s already so much there to work with, especially in a player who fits the mold of Mack’s traditional bigs.
"“Chris Mack is a big man’s coach. I like that about him of course. They said I was more agile Matt Stainbrook.“(Mack) is a pretty cool guy. He’s somebody I could play for.”"
While the basketball program is hosting Dickinson, Scott Satterfield and company will be looking to keep their hot streak alive when four-star dual threat quarterback Chubba Purdy makes his official visit to Louisville.
It’s his game, not his name, that has him ranked as the nation’s 8th best dual-threat QB according to 247 Sports, and the 314th best recruit overall. With offers from a bevy of Power Five programs including Michigan State, Arizona State, Kansas, Kansas State, amongst others, Purdy is seeing his stock start to soar in the class of 2020.
Not only does Purdy have one of the best arms I’ve seen on a high school quarterback in a while, making 40 and 50 yard throws downfield look routine, he’s also got some nice wheels to go along with it, making him a perfect fit for Scott Satterfield’s offense.
As a junior at Perry High School, Purdy lit up scoreboards making highlight play after highlight play with both his dynamic arm and his legs. He finished his season 3,422 passing yards and 36 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions while completing nearly 65% of his passes. He also carried the ball 137 times, rushing for 1,156 yards and 22 touchdowns, including five games rushing over 100 yards.
With his long list of offers, which should grow exponentially as his senior season gets underway in the fall, landing his services won’t be easy. Getting the Gilbert, AZ product on campus will be huge for Satterfield and company and could go a long way in his recruitment.
Will big visits lead to two commitments? Stay tuned to find out!