Louisville basketball lands elite big man.
Chris Mack and the Louisville basketball program went 213 days between the first commitment and second commitment in the class of 2021. For the third commitment, we only had to wait 13 days and it came with a surprise reclassification twist.
Easily the most talked-about position of need in the current class has been the point guard spot as most fans are in the same boat as me in believing that star guard David Johnson will likely be off to the NBA at the completion of the 2020-21 season. Thankfully, Mack was able to land a commitment from four-star Bobby Pettiford Jr. out of North Carolina, leaving the center position as the next most important.
Mack was fortunate to take over a roster back in 2018 that had several talented and versatile big men, including Steven Enoch and Malik Williams. With Enoch graduated that leaves Williams, along with Aidan Igiehon – one of the stars of the 2019 class, as the only true “centers” remaining.
Igiehon has been the only true big man to commit to Louisville through the first three years of Mack’s tenures straight out of high school. His development was all over the place this past season and while he still projects to be a very important player, it was a top priority of the staff to land a big man capable of providing minutes right away.
Cardinal Nation I’m coming!!🔴🐔#Committed pic.twitter.com/vDqM1T1Xrk
— Gabe Wiznitzer (@GabeWiznitzer) June 23, 2020
That can now also be checked off the recruiting “to-do” list as four-star power forward/center Gabe Wiznitzer announced his intentions to play his college basketball at Louisville and do so right away, moving from the class of 2021 to 2020.
For most fans, Wiznitzer is a relatively new name as most talk thus far has been centered around bigs, Efton Reid and Rosevelt Wheeler. Louisville extended Wiznitzer a scholarship just eight days ago, and within that time enough work was done by the staff for the 7’0 big man to pull the trigger all without ever stepping foot onto campus.
Playing for Hargrave Academy, a school that’s been a pipeline of sorts for Louisville with players like Montrezl Harrell, Terry Rozier, and Luke Hancock all following the same path, Wizniter averaged a double-double as a junior, putting up 13 points and 11 rebounds per game on way to becoming one of the hottest prep players in the program.
Over the last few months, the offer sheet has nearly tripled for Wiznitzer with a handful of high-major programs throwing their hat into the race, including Kansas State, Ohio State, West Virginia, Iowa, and a plethora of others and it’s not hard to see why.
In a world where the “traditional” big men are being replaced left and right, Wiznitzer brings a game that could translate across all eras and playing style. Even at 7’0, the North Carolina product moves very fluidly and is more than able to get up and down the court in transition and finish fast breaks with dunks or even provide clean up around the rim. Wiznitzer told Adam Zagoria earlier this year that he had spent a lot of time working on his body, losing 15 pounds in the process, becoming a much more modern big.
While he can hurt you on the break, where Wiznitzer does the most damage on both offense and defense is in half-court situations. Offensively, Wiznitzer has both a traditional game with a touch of modern to it as he’s capable of scoring just as effectively with his back to the basket as he is off of a pick-and-pop or from a spot-up jumper both in the mid-range and from deep.
As you watch highlights it’s easy to make a comparison to several former Xavier bigs, mostly Sean O’ Mara. While Wiznitzer is a much more talented player overall, he brings similar traits to the floor and is a near-perfect fit for what Mack likes to do in the four-out-one-in offensive scheme. He’s got several low post moves that he’s nearly perfected, which should put a little pep into the step of big man whisperer Mike Pegues, he’s a very strong and physical rebounder, he’s effective from the free-throw line, and he’s not afraid to get down and dirty on defense as both a rim protector and big who can switch onto smaller players.
Wiznitzer isn’t overly athletic but thrives in getting the upper hand on positioning against defending big men and finding the right angles to attack.
This surprise commit might not be program-changing, but it adds depth at a position of great need this season.