Because the accumulation of basketball talent at the Division I level has faded, and because the Milwaukee Panthers don’t draw as much attention in recruiting games as Kentucky or North Carolina, college basketball history made on Wednesday was mostly under the Duke defeat. Out on a top prospect.
Patrick Baldwin’s decision to participate in Milwaukee and compete in the Horizon League was more than that. This was something we have not seen in the modern era of recruitment.
Going 6-9 over Hamilton High in Sussex, Wis., Baldwin is ranked No. 5 in the recruiting category at 247 Sports and ESPN in 2021 and No. 4 by rivals. He will certainly take a top five ranking when the Final Recruitment Services Consent Index (RSCI) for 2021 is calculated.
MORE: SN’s Way – Top 25 for the very early 2021-22 season
Since 1998, not a single unanimous top five recruit has been selected to play basketball for a mid-major program. Only three times before someone has been ranked in the top 20 selected to play in the top-middle, and only five times has such a player finished his college career at that level.
Baldwin chose to play in Milwaukee primarily because his father Patrick Baldwin is the head coach of the senior team. The Panthers have not been successful in Pat Sr.’s tenure. He has not had a winning season overall. In the last three seasons, they finished no higher than seventh in the Horizon League.
“It means the world to me,” Baldwin told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “My father has been my trainer, he has been my coach, he has been my father. Having a chance to play for him will help his team win next year, which means completely to me, definitely. “
NBA draft analyst Matthew Maurer of TheDraftReview.com has followed Baldwin’s game over the years and has two thoughts about Baldwin’s choice.
“Father in me loves it.” Scout near me, I have that scene where it’s like: I don’t know, man, “Maurer told The Sporting News.” I like to spend time, and you don’t need to go to BlueBlood to get recognition. is. I get all that, but the thing about people that people forget is still an evaluation. We still need to decide against whom we consider our partner. When you’re a blue-chip player, you always present him against NBA-type talent. This is not a league that produces a lot of NBA-type talent and NBA-type size.
“That is a great story. I hope it works out.”
Maurer noted that Milwaukee has not produced an NBA draft pick since 1992 and has only two in its history. Baldwin Jr. also missed an opportunity to compete against elite competition on the summer circuit in 2020 and lost his senior season in high school due to an ankle injury.
Baldwin told JS, “Honestly, as a child, there aren’t many children where they grow up and their dream school is Milwaukee.” “But you have to make every place your ‘big time’.” This is something my father has always said. When I put on that panther’s jersey, I repeat that school with pride, and I’m leaving for the city. “
If you think that such a possibility is almost certain to dominate in a league like Horizon or Ohio Valley or Conference USA, then you might be surprised at how the experiences of these players evolved.
Let’s take a look at those following a similar course:
2020: Capricorn Maker, 6–11 center, RSCI No. 15 prospect, Howard. Hacker’s decision to attend Howard attracted a lot of attention from those pushing more chances to play for HBCU programs. He played only two matches of the 2020-21 season, though scoring 11 and giving up eight rebounds in a 17-point loss to Belmont and 12 points in a 14-point loss to Quinnipiac.
The producer injured his waist and was ruled indefinitely. Howard ended his season after playing five games and the MEAC was not one of the eight teams competing in the regular season.
It is not yet clear what Macer’s plans are for the 2021-22 season.
ESPN ranked him No. 99 on the list of Top 100 prospects for the 2021 NBA Draft.
2018: Charles Baisie, 6-11 center, RSCI No. 9, Western Kentucky. It is important to remember that recruiting services are ranking players on college potential, and Bassi has excelled for the Hiltopers. He has a career average of 15.9 points and 7.5 rebounds with 2.6 blocks per game. WKU finished second and first in the lineup with Basi (he was injured in 2019–20) and lost the Conference USA title game twice.
With his size and skill, Baisie can be considered one of the players who was born too late. A player with his size and knack for internal defense would have been highly valuable two decades ago. He is not a significant perimeter shooter, though – just 29 3-pointers in three seasons – although he has continued to work to improve that part of his game.
2009: Tony Mitchell, 6-8 forward, RSCI No. 20, North Texas. Mitchell did not plan to be a pioneer when he left high school. He intended to play in Missouri, but had issues with his NCAA eligibility due to his decision to transfer to an unrecognized prep school. He eventually decided to play closer to home in North Texas.
After sitting out his freshman season, Mitchell averaged 13.7 points and 9.3 rebounds with Green in two seasons. In 2011-12, UNT finished 1-on-16 and lost in the Sun Belt Championship game, with Mitchell finishing 1. The following season, UNT fell to 12-20 after coach Johnny Jones left LSU, with Mitchell having 13 points and 8.5 rebounds.
He entered the 2013 NBA Draft and was selected in the second round by the Pistons with the 37th overall pick. He played for them in 21 matches in the 2013–14 season, but failed to stick with the Suns or Warriors and continued to play professionally overseas.
2000: Abdu Diem, 6-9 ahead, RSCI No. 17, Jacksonville State. Dame signed with Auburn outside Oak Hill Academy and played two seasons for the Tigers, but he was never able to meet the expectations put on him by high school scouts. After a solid freshman season, Dame played limited minutes as a sophomore and selected Jacksonville State to transfer.
There, he played a full season as a junior, and averaged 5.1 points and 1.5 rebounds. His senior year consisted of only nine games.
He was not drafted by the NBA.
1999: Cedric Bank, 6-2 guard, RSCI No. 19, Illinois-Chicago. Banks committed to UIC after finishing a state runner-up to Chicago’s Westinghouse High. He was ineligible to compete in his first year on campus, but averaged 13.9 points as a freshman, then improved to 18 points in each of his final three years, making the first-team All-Horizon League each time.
He played in the NCAA tournament twice. The Flames were the No. 15 seed in their first season and lost to the Final Four-bound Oklahoma. In his junior year, 2003-04, UIC went 24-8 and reached the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed before losing to Kansas.
He started his career as the Flames’ all-time leader with 2,097 points. Banks was not drafted by the NBA, but had a successful career in European basketball; He played for teams in Israel, Belgium, Turkey and mainly France.
Leave a Reply