Louisville lands some studs

Ricky P reloads

By Antonio Curro - Midwest PUNKS Editor

Head Coach Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals continue to make the state of Indiana one of their recruiting priorities each year and they scored big again this past weekend as 2011 prospects from Lawrence North High (Indiana) Michael Chandler (6-10 F/C) and Ryan Taylor (6-5 F) both verbally committed to play for Coach Pitino at Louisville. This is another major recruiting catch for Pitino as both Chandler and Taylor are considered elite national prospects and both are regarded as top 100 prospects nationally.

My Take on Michael Chandler (right)-He’s a big, strong, up and coming interior prospect with excellent size, nice length, and a solid physical tool package to build from.  The majority of his hype right now is based purely on upside and potential as his skill set is still very raw along with his explosion both laterally and vertically. He has decent interior rebounding instincts on both ends and has shown the ability to step away from the basket occasionally to 10-12 feet, but footwork, consistency of offensive game, and interior post skills are in the developmental stage right now. With continued hard work and development both physically and skill wise, he has a chance to become a high major impact force at the next level.

My take on Ryan Taylor-A skilled forward with solid athleticism, Taylor has excellent instincts on the defensive end and great timing as well. He has a great feel for the game around the basket offensively and is a solid slasher as well who can score in transition at times. Taylor has also shown the ability to stroke the jumper at the mid range area and beyond the arc occasionally. He has the potential to develop into a versatile talent with the ability to become a dominant offensive threat in transition and half court sets.  Is perceived right now as an undersized PF talent but with added explosion laterally and vertically and continued improvement of his skill set across the board, he could develop into a solid 3, which could be more beneficial for him given his current size.  Really like his game for a young talent.

Antonio Curro is also the National Recruiting Editor for NY2LASports.com as well as the Midwest Editor and National Consultant for HoopScoop.