When Scottie Lindsey first came to Northwestern’s campus this spring, he left Evanston the same way he arrived, holding only an offer from Indiana State. However, Lindsey became one of the biggest “risers” on the AAU scene this summer, picking up offers from NU, Iowa and Vanderbilt among others. Now, he’s an NU commit.
“I just feel that it’s basically the right fit for me,” Lindsey said, of Fenwick (IL). “Obviously, it’s one of the best schools in the nation and (they have) a great coach (in Chris Collins) that learned from the best in Coach K.”
Lindsey is the fourth recruit in an already stellar 2014 class for the Wildcats. He joins forwards Vic Law and Gavin Skelly, and point guard Bryant McIntosh. Lindsey was recruited as both a point guard and a shooting guard, but he’ll be a shooting guard at NU, playing alongside McIntosh.
“They look at me as a 2,” Lindsey said. “I know a lot of people had concerns whether I would come there (after McIntosh’s commitment). Bryant is the 1 and I’m the 2.”
With Lindsey’s commitment, all NU is missing in this class is a center. If the Wildcats add one, they could make a pretty solid starting five out of this class alone, with McIntosh at the 1, Lindsey at the 2, Law at the 3 and Skelly at the 4.
Lindsey's AAU coach, Scott Lidskin of Illinois Old School, said Collins personally took over Lindsey's recruitment toward the end of the process.
"Coach Collins came after him pretty hard," Lidskin said. "He was pretty much the only guy recruiting him (for NU) for the past three or four weeks."
Lidskin is also an assistant coach at Glenbrook North — Collins' former high school — and has a good relationship with Collins, having sent Jon Scheyer to play for him at Duke. He said that Collins' recruiting in Chicago has turned around the perception of NU "100 percent," and that this class could lead other Chicago kids to choose the Wildcats in the future.
Lindsey is looking toward the future and NU’s potential — “we have a really good class,” he said — and not the Wildcats’ past. Tradition wasn’t an important factor in his decision. Rather, he focused on what the team can be under Collins. He raved about the momentum Collins and the recruiting class have brought to the program and thinks he can add to what looks like a pretty special class for NU.
“I just want to be a part of something — Northwestern doesn’t have a good history, and if we come in and be that class that got them to their first NCAA Tournament, we can be in their record book,” he said.
“I think that’s greater, starting something new.”
That’s the kind of player Collins needs as he builds up the program — players who are more focused on building their own legacy than adding to an already esteemed tradition. He got one of those players in Lindsey.