JCT.......Matt Chastain is playing Tuesday night at ISU in Supersectional against Newark,,,,,,,you could be our eyes and ears.

After watching his recruiting video, in my humble opinion I’m not sold he’s MVC level, maybe an OK player in a lower league. He looks like a solid wing player, which we already have a decent amount of (Doyle, Richardson, Ingram, Satterwhite, Skokna). I also think he’ll be playing out of position if we try putting him down low and wouldn’t be effective against some of the really good post players in the league.

I also don't think we should feel the need to use every scholarship, especially this late in recruiting if it’ll cause a depth chart logjam and not be a major upgrade. I would rather see the remaining 2 scholarships be prioritized for JUCO forwards who could step in right away (yes I’m aware Montel James players don’t grow on trees, but I liked what I saw from Andres' recruiting videos/JUCO stats) or even a depth HS post player who could develop but play some spare minutes like Rajala on the CBI team (Lorenzo Edwards of Lake Forest who is also on our Verbal Commits Page probably fits that mold) over a depth wing.

If we can’t find a big or a no-doubter guard (I don’t think Chastain is Ron Baker level, but again what do I know), hold the scholarship for a late transfer or for next year’s class. We will only really have 1 scholarship available barring roster changes and 4 really solid targets in Krutwig, Gilyard, Joiner, and Wilson who would be a better fit on the depth chart. And I get the Tyler Ulis point. But there is a class of kids between someone producing at Kentucky & the lower-level D1 recruits. None of those 4 are Ulis or Sean O’Mara-level recruits, but would be great gets for us.

Lot of parallels between Chastain and former Rambler Tanner Williams:
About the same size.

Both from small central Il.towns.

Both played in Div. 1/2.

Both great leapers.

Both had recruitment heat up late in their careers.

Both played AAU ball for Illinois Irish.

I thought Tanner was very athletic and talented when he came to Loyola and
predicted a fine career before his knees sidelined him.

I think Chastain would be a good get and am glad we were on him early as his recruiting is heating up.

I think two reasons why Chastain has flown under the radar are 1. his playing small division high school ball in central Il. , and 2. a meniscus injury which cut short his AAU season last year.

I definitely thought Tanner Williams at first for the same reasons, but after watching his video, he doesn't look as big or as good of a rebounder as Tanner. The point totals are probably higher than whatever Tanner did in HS, but I don't see it translating it over to the MVC. Moreover, it's really tough to get excited over him.

But apparently more college coaches are starting to agree with you: he just got offered by Utah St.

From Henricksen in the Sun Times today:
Class 1A star turning heads: Leroy, a school of 240 students 20 minutes southeast of Bloomington, won its first sectional title in school history and just the third regional championship in 30 years. And leading the way is the biggest unknown, breakout player in the senior class: Matt Chastain.

Chastain, an athletically explosive 6-6 forward, has put up 25.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 2.9 blocks and 2.6 steals a game. He just surpassed 2,000 career points in the Class 1A sectional title game victory.

While playing with the Illinois Irish on the AAA circuit, Chastain was on the radar heading into last summer. The City/Suburban Hoops Report had him as a Division II/low-Division I bubble prospect last spring. But there was certainly more to prove for a player who feasted on the likes of Fisher, Fieldcrest, Salt Fork and Heyworth rather than Simeon, Thornton or Fenwick.

A meniscus injury, however, shut Chastain down for the entire month of July. Thus, the opportunity for a small school prospect from central Illinois to be seen playing at a high level vanquished.

But Chastain’s combination of size and wow-type athleticism is too intriguing. Add the whopping numbers –– Chastain has had multiple 40-plus point games –– and the success Leroy has experienced, and it’s opened the door. And as is the case with the late spring signing period approaching, college coaches are trying to find the late-blooming senior sleeper.

Just this past week Loyola, Valparaiso, Drake, DePaul, SIUE, Western Illinois and Southeast Louisiana were all in to see Chastain. Utah and Utah State watched him play this week and plan on coming back. Loyola, who has invested some time in Chastain over the past couple of years, was the first to offer, and he was planning an unofficial visit to DePaul this weekend.

Leroy will face Newark in a 1A super-sectional Tuesday night at Illinois State.

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MBB Scholarship Chart

I'm still liking this idea.

I tried it in a video game with disastrous results.

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MBB Scholarship Chart

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MBB Scholarship Chart

That escalated quickly.

Why do I have the feeling this kid is going to go on to splattering egg all over my face and set records at Utah?