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This is a big weekend for Northwestern football, as the the Wildcats will get a good test for just how much they've improved when they face Wisconsin. But NU basketball is hoping for a big win, as well.
The Wildcats will be hosting four-star 2015 forward Aaron Falzon. At 6-foot-8, 208 pounds, he ranks 117th in the nation, according to the 247 Sports composite ratings, and 33rd among all power forwards. He has offers from Harvard, Georgia, Marquette, NC State, Penn State, Providence and Rutgers. While the Wildcats have hosted good players before, Falzon is of particular significance for a few reasons:
1. He's legitimately interested in Northwestern.
Falzon won't be the only good player at NU on Saturday, as 2016 center Barret Benson will be joining him, according to 247's Luke Srodulski ($). But we know that Northwestern is in Falzon's top two, along with Harvard.
That would leave #Northwestern and Harvard as his final two @AdamFinkelstein: BC no longer recruiting Aaron Falzon per sources.
— Louie Vaccher (@WildcatReport) September 30, 2014
2. His presumed frontrunner is no longer recruiting him.
Boston College was considered the frontrunner to land Falzon, but have apparently decided to focus on other players. That means that Northwestern just got a major boost.
3. He's a power forward, and NU needs those
Northwestern has struggled to find solid power forwards for quite some time, and this year, the Wildcats will either need to have some natural threes play the four spot, or lean on freshman Gavin Skelly. After previous high school and grad transfer recruiting attempts failed, NU could really use a boost in its power forward recruiting. That's why landing Falzon would be such a big deal.