Northwestern picked up the third commitment for its 2014 class today with the verbal of point guard Bryant McIntosh. McIntosh — a three-star point guard with a solid offer list that includes Cincinnati, Iowa, Missouri and Memphis — has been the top point guard on NU's list for a long time and the Wildcats have finally sealed the deal.
The Profile
School: Greenburg Community HS (IN)
Position: PG
AAU: Eric Gordon All-Stars
Stars: 3
Offers: Auburn, Cincinnati, Clemson, Creighton, Indiana State, Iowa, Memphis, Missouri, Oregon State, Purdue, Rhode Island, West Virginia
Profiles: Scout, 247, Rivals, ESPN
Finding the Point Guard
We're going to mix this up a little this time around, shifting away from the "What's the Hype" and "What it Means" sections. That's because NU's point guard recruiting has been pretty crazy this year, but despite the craziness, the Wildcats finally got their man. Initially, it looked like Decatur's Marcus Bartley was NU's main target. Bartley came to Evanston on a visit in the spring and was getting all of the attention.
Next, Tyler Ulis came into the fold. Ulis's recruitment exploded this summer and NU was one of many teams hoping for the Chicago product's services. The competition for Ulis was always strong, and included powerhouses Michigan State and Kentucky. Then, in the July evaluation period, McIntosh got an NU offer. He decommitted from Indiana State after seeing his offer list grow, and aside from Ulis, he has seen his hype grow more than any other player in the Midwest.
After awhile, it became clear that McIntosh was the Wildcats' top point guard target. NU made Ulis's initial cut, but he's now only considering Iowa, Kentucky and Michigan State. Bartley told us this summer that Chris Collins and staff are no longer recruiting him. Eventually, NU added an offer to Scottie Lindsey, whose recruitment has also blown up recently, but McIntosh was always the top guy on Collins' wish list.
Finally, after a lot of looking around and a lot of change, NU has its point guard.
McIntosh may be the start of a pipeline of sorts to Indiana. Chicago is important, but there is a lot of good talent in Indiana and Collins has made the state — particularly Indianapolis — a priority in recruiting. It paid off with McIntosh.
We're not going to speculate on McIntosh's role at NU. He still has another year of high school basketball to play, and a lot can change in the next two years. However, NU fans should be excited to watch him play with Vic Law and most of the current roster.
McIntosh has been high on NU for awhile. Heck, he was cheering for the Wildcats' football team on Twitter during the Cal and Syracuse games. He had good things to say about NU — especially Collins — before even receiving an offer:
“Growing up as a Duke fan, talking to him on the phone was great,” McIntosh said Friday. “That’s something that really attracts me.”
McIntosh scaled back his fanhood in recent years as he entered the recruiting process, but his Blue Devils love remains strong enough that the Collins tie-in makes Northwestern one of his top choices.
“I’m still getting to know them,” he said. “But I’d say they’re definitely very high on my list.”
So NU gets its No. 1 point guard and another star recruit. The Wildcats are just three recruits — and zero games — into the Chris Collins era, but things are certainly looking good for the program.