RE: Latest on Jordan Threloff
Don't know about Flames24Rulz, but I don't have any inside info on it. I've met Jordan a couple times and talked briefly with his mother once. Seem like great people and we'd be adding more quality to the Huskie family if they choose NIU. I do have some insight on the process and decision making in regards to recruiting from my years of coaching and from going through it recently with Tyler. The advice I'd give Jordan and his family is: 1) This is maybe the most important one. Go where the love is. Not just the recruit/coach speak, but the real love. Go where they really want YOU and won't always be looking to recruit over you but instead to recruit with accompanying you in mind. Go where they feel YOU are the piece they need. 2) Go where you feel comfortable with the staff. They are the ones who will be big influences in your game and life. If you want to be around good character, look for that. If you want hard-nosed, in-your-face then look for that. If you want charisma then look for that. The same can be said for guys on the team. Have a comfort level with the type of guys they are as best as you can tell when around thm. 3) School fit. Choose a school that will give you want you want in terms of size, academics, student life, etc. 4) Playing time (maybe could be moved up if looking at these as a ranking). For Ty this was huge. He didn't want to wait until spring of his senior year to commit and sign just to go to a bigger school where obviously the love wasn't as strong or they would have offered early and where he'd have to red shirt or sit a year or two before playing quality minutes. He wanted to play and that was a priority over school or conference name. Related to this is a schools style of play. Make sure it fits yours. 5) Closeness to home. This one is weird. Often kids can't wait to "get away". Yet, many end up coming back closer to home while some thrive leaving it behind. For athletes with close families and friends, it is often important for them to be able to see them play. Tyler never thought that was a big deal until it got serious and it came time to actually choose which schools to visit and then realized he really didn't want to go far from family and friends.
Jordan apparently wants to take all his official visits, which is fine and good. He must be enjoying the process and wants to get more info on schools and programs. For Tyler, he never really got into the process and saw it as more annoying than cool the last year + of it. He was ready for it to be over and ended up anxious to cross schools off the list. The less number of schools, the less clouded with info in his mind. He had a good idea about the different schools and their basketball programs, he knew which coaches he felt were most sincere and felt most comfortable talking to so he didn't need to visit just to visit. In fact, he even cancelled some official visits when he realized that NIU was showing him and giving him what he was looking for. Why lead other schools on, waste their time and our time, and muddy the water when that is the time to try to clear things up in the decision making process. He was pretty mature about the process and I was proud of him how he approached it and handled it through it all.
My wish for Jordan is that things clear up and the decision becomes an easy one because I know it can be a strain, as I saw it first hand. Don't make it any more work than it needs to be. It feels really good when you decide and put it all behind you so you can focus on getting better and on the upcoming season. I see he received two more offers (SMU and New Orleans) this week. I remember when Matt Doherty of SMU called our home and talked with us for almost a half hour. It was exciting to talk to him remembering him as a player for UNC. We even did an unofficial visit to SMU when Ty was on an AAU trip to Dallas. BEAUTIFUL campus. But, a long, long ways away. However the process ends up and wherever Jordan ends up, I hope it works out well for him. It sure has so far for Ty. The staff is high character and they push the players as well as put their arm around them when needed. They recruit quality character players. The program is headed in the right direction. He likes NIU as a school and is doing well. We can see every home game and some away games each year because he is close enough. He can come home (if he wants/needs) but can also make it as far away as he wants and not come home for long periods. So, if Jordan is out there reading this board (I kind of hope he doesn't and I'm glad Ty never does) then best of luck as you consider all your options. Use your mind and your heart to direct you and things will likely turn out good for you. We'd love to see you in a NIU uniform and think you'd be a great fit, but I think you know that already. Good luck!
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