Recruiting Wrap

McGary a 'national best-kept secret'

Posted by: Jeremy Werner

Friday, November 20, 2009 7:12 AM

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Unlike his AAU teammate Branden Dawson, Mitch McGary went relatively unnoticed on the summer AAU circuit with SYF Players.

Midwest schools know all about the 6-foot-10, 225-pound post player. But McGary was unable to show off his skills to a national audience as he sat out most of the AAU season to improve his grades during summer school. A lingering foot injury also limited the junior from Chesterton, Ind.

"He didn't get as much done this summer as he needed to," SYF coach Wayne Brumm said. "He does have a troublesome foot problem he's dealing with right now involving the arches. It's just the fact that he's growing so fast. He's still dealing with that and may end up having surgery as soon as the (high school) season's over, so I don't know if he's going to be able to get out much next spring either.

"Really, he's a national best-kept secret. People in the Midwest, or at least locally here - you know, Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, Ohio State - they're obviously familiar with him. But outside of the area, I don't think people know who he is because they haven't seen him."

McGary, ranked the 134^th-best prospect in the Class of 2011 by Rivals.com, has a scholarship offers from Purdue and Iowa. He has interest from several other Big Ten schools, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State and Wisconsin.

McGary took visits to Illinois, Purdue, Indiana and Notre Dame last season. He traveled to Champaign on Jan. 10 to watch the Illini defeat Indiana 76-45.

Brumm said McGary has "unusual" athleticism for a kid his size and said the junior is at his best facing the basket and in transition.

"He can handle the ball fullcourt and in transition make one-hand, no-look passes which isn't anything I encourage," Brumm said. "But it's something he can do, which is again pretty doggone good for a 6-10 kid, especially for a 6-10 young kid.

"The worst thing for him would be to go to a school that is going to stick him under the basket with his back to the basket," Brumm said. "It's just not him. He's too much of a mustang for that. That relates somewhat to his immaturity. But that's kind of what's made him too. He's got this full of energy that can be a real distraction at times, but it's also the same thing that makes him so unique and so special at times. I guess he's just got to temper that some and get it going in the right direction. But he's a talent."

McGary returns as Chesterton's go-to-player after averaging 14 points, 10 rebounds and 3.5 assists during his sophomore season, his first at the varsity level. But McGary will also continue to focus on improving  his academics to ensure he can play at the next level.

"He's really buckling down because he has some school work to get done," Brumm said. "He's really making progress there. I think his maturity that way is coming to play because he realizes it's not all fun and games. He realizes he's got a job to do and he's got to get that done."

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