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Q&A: Gophers Pitino and IU's Crean Watch Riley LaChance Work Out Before Off U Visit
Q&A: Gophers Pitino and Hoosiers Crean Watch Riley LaChance Work Out Days Before Official Visit
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/287025?referrer_id=388419
Riley LaChance, a 6-2, 160-pound point guard from Brookfield (WI) Central, will visit Minnesota this weekend. Gopher Hole.com caught up with his father, Tom, who is Riley's head coach for the Ray Allen Select AAU program to learn the latest on his son's recruitment.
Gopher Hole: How many visits has Riley taken so far?
Tom LaChance: He has taken an unofficial to Butler. An unofficial to Michigan State. An official to Creighton and Vanderbilt.
Gopher Hole: What other visits does he have after this weekend?
Tom LaChance: We don't have anything lined up for sure, but I know Iowa offered last week and they are wanting him to visit. Indiana has come in. I just left an open gym and working Riley out at an open gym at his high school and Indiana had Coach (Tom) Crean and Coach (Tim) Buckley) and Coach Pitino was there.
Gopher Hole: Indiana has not offer yet, right?
Tom LaChance: They have not.
Gopher Hole: Has he somewhat narrowed down his list of schools that he is looking at or is he still open?
Tom LaChance: He is still open. He really, really likes Vanderbilt and that is a really good fit there. Love the coaching staff. Obviously, the school speaks for itself, but with these Big Ten schools coming in to play the last couple of weeks, it is obviously something that intrigues them and playing close to home. Honest, nothing has been yeah or nay, they're out or they are in. He narrowed his list at the beginning of August. It has been a couple of crazy weeks.
Gopher Hole: How many schools would you really say that he is considering right now?
Tom LaChance: I would say six. (Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Indiana, Creighton and Iowa).
Gopher Hole: Those are six very good schools. He has to be very pleased with the looks that he is getting.
Tom LaChance: Yes. He kind of played with a chip on the shoulder all summer, in a good way. His stock rose in April and he played even better in July, so a lot of different people got on him and I think a lot of people. A lot of websites were saying "pretty good for being unathletic." Well, if he is unathletic, then I don't know how he is getting by those guys. He is not a dunker or the fastest guy in the world, but he gets it done. He is kind of like a throwback point guard, in my opinion. The big thing that I always stress with him is the assist to turnover ratio. Are there flashier guys? Yes, but his assist to turnover ratio is very good and he is a lights out shooter. Traditional point guards maybe aren't shooters. He is a lights out shooter. A guy goes under the ball screen. He can hit that shot pretty consistently when they go under the ball screen.
Gopher Hole: Obviously, you were a player at Marquette. Has basketball always been something that has been pretty important in the family?
Tom LaChance: Yes. I guess that it is a passion. He had a ball in his hand at a very, very young age. A lot of people think that I am this guy out with a whip. I have never, ever, ever had to tell him to get in the gym. He has always beaten me there.
Gopher Hole: What is going to be in your opinion or having talked to Riley is going to be the main factor that is going to make him pick School A over School B or C?
Tom LaChance: Fit to his style of play and I think the potential to play right way, maybe. He wouldn't want to go where it doesn't fit his style of play.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from the Gophers?
Tom LaChance: They love him. Coach Pitino and Coach McHale, they love the way that he plays off the pick and roll. College basketball is going almost all pick and roll, like the NBA. Almost everybody is running pick and roll and he excels in pick and roll. Making the right reads. Hitting the big man. They are very excited for him to come visit and show him Minnesota.
Gopher Hole: Has he ever been to the campus before? I know that you have played some AAU tournaments in Minnesota.
Tom LaChance: We are in Minneapolis every year since he was 10. He has got one of his best friends, is a freshman there right now from the school. There are a lot of kids from Brookfield, Wisconsin that go to Minnesota.
Gopher Hole: What are the expectations for the high school team this season?
Tom LaChance: I think that they are going to be ranked pretty high. I hope that they come out strong. I work their high school team out three times a week and I do a skills academy with most of the guys. There are a lot of expectations on them. My worry is that they think that they can show up and just play, but their coach, Coach Adams, does a good job with them and Riley is a pretty good leader, so I think that they will hopefully overcome that. I think that they be ranked pretty high, right up there with (two-time defending state champion) Germantown, probably.
Gopher Hole: What is Riley hoping to learn on the visit to Minnesota?
Tom LaChance: Probably, their roster breakdown, number one. Their roster breakdown of next year and who else they are recruiting at point guard. How they plan on using him, if he goes there.
Gopher Hole: Has he talked about when he is going to try to decide on a school?
Tom LaChance: He talked about, probably the second week of October. His high school season starts the second week of November and unless something would come up last minute or something would change, he definitely wants to be committed before his high school season starts, so he enjoys the season and focuses on the team.
Gopher Hole: I know that he picked up a lot of interest after July. Are you kind of surprised in the way that all the schools have expressed in interest in your son or did you always think that he could play at that level, but colleges didn't realize how good he was?
Tom LaChance: I thought that the three guards I had (on Ray Allen Select), because they played for me since they were ten, all three of them were probably one of the most underecruited kids in the country. They all three played well. Reid Timmer committed to Drake. Brady Ellingson has picked up a lot of offers. Iowa has offered both of them. I know that he is down to a couple of schools and Riley was right there. We were used to, for three years being laughed at during warm-ups. I knew that things would happen because I knew how hard those kids worked in the gym. We did a lot of winning in some pretty prestigious tournaments against some athletes, so I am not surprised that it picked up. They bailed because of stereotypes, if you know what I am saying. I had guys writing about them that never saw them play or maybe saw them play for ten minutes and said ‘a player but unathletic.' There is no way that you can play the point guard at a high major without being athletic. The comparisons we had heard are (Indiana guard) Jordan Hulls, (Marquette's) Travis Diener and Gonzaga's Kevin Pangos. We actually got to know Kevin Pangos because he was at the CP3 (Chris Paul) camp and had a pretty experience there.
Q&A: Gophers Pitino and Hoosiers Crean Watch Riley LaChance Work Out Days Before Official Visit
By Chris Monter
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/287025?referrer_id=388419
Riley LaChance, a 6-2, 160-pound point guard from Brookfield (WI) Central, will visit Minnesota this weekend. Gopher Hole.com caught up with his father, Tom, who is Riley's head coach for the Ray Allen Select AAU program to learn the latest on his son's recruitment.
Gopher Hole: How many visits has Riley taken so far?
Tom LaChance: He has taken an unofficial to Butler. An unofficial to Michigan State. An official to Creighton and Vanderbilt.
Gopher Hole: What other visits does he have after this weekend?
Tom LaChance: We don't have anything lined up for sure, but I know Iowa offered last week and they are wanting him to visit. Indiana has come in. I just left an open gym and working Riley out at an open gym at his high school and Indiana had Coach (Tom) Crean and Coach (Tim) Buckley) and Coach Pitino was there.
Gopher Hole: Indiana has not offer yet, right?
Tom LaChance: They have not.
Gopher Hole: Has he somewhat narrowed down his list of schools that he is looking at or is he still open?
Tom LaChance: He is still open. He really, really likes Vanderbilt and that is a really good fit there. Love the coaching staff. Obviously, the school speaks for itself, but with these Big Ten schools coming in to play the last couple of weeks, it is obviously something that intrigues them and playing close to home. Honest, nothing has been yeah or nay, they're out or they are in. He narrowed his list at the beginning of August. It has been a couple of crazy weeks.
Gopher Hole: How many schools would you really say that he is considering right now?
Tom LaChance: I would say six. (Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Indiana, Creighton and Iowa).
Gopher Hole: Those are six very good schools. He has to be very pleased with the looks that he is getting.
Tom LaChance: Yes. He kind of played with a chip on the shoulder all summer, in a good way. His stock rose in April and he played even better in July, so a lot of different people got on him and I think a lot of people. A lot of websites were saying "pretty good for being unathletic." Well, if he is unathletic, then I don't know how he is getting by those guys. He is not a dunker or the fastest guy in the world, but he gets it done. He is kind of like a throwback point guard, in my opinion. The big thing that I always stress with him is the assist to turnover ratio. Are there flashier guys? Yes, but his assist to turnover ratio is very good and he is a lights out shooter. Traditional point guards maybe aren't shooters. He is a lights out shooter. A guy goes under the ball screen. He can hit that shot pretty consistently when they go under the ball screen.
Gopher Hole: Obviously, you were a player at Marquette. Has basketball always been something that has been pretty important in the family?
Tom LaChance: Yes. I guess that it is a passion. He had a ball in his hand at a very, very young age. A lot of people think that I am this guy out with a whip. I have never, ever, ever had to tell him to get in the gym. He has always beaten me there.
Gopher Hole: What is going to be in your opinion or having talked to Riley is going to be the main factor that is going to make him pick School A over School B or C?
Tom LaChance: Fit to his style of play and I think the potential to play right way, maybe. He wouldn't want to go where it doesn't fit his style of play.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from the Gophers?
Tom LaChance: They love him. Coach Pitino and Coach McHale, they love the way that he plays off the pick and roll. College basketball is going almost all pick and roll, like the NBA. Almost everybody is running pick and roll and he excels in pick and roll. Making the right reads. Hitting the big man. They are very excited for him to come visit and show him Minnesota.
Gopher Hole: Has he ever been to the campus before? I know that you have played some AAU tournaments in Minnesota.
Tom LaChance: We are in Minneapolis every year since he was 10. He has got one of his best friends, is a freshman there right now from the school. There are a lot of kids from Brookfield, Wisconsin that go to Minnesota.
Gopher Hole: What are the expectations for the high school team this season?
Tom LaChance: I think that they are going to be ranked pretty high. I hope that they come out strong. I work their high school team out three times a week and I do a skills academy with most of the guys. There are a lot of expectations on them. My worry is that they think that they can show up and just play, but their coach, Coach Adams, does a good job with them and Riley is a pretty good leader, so I think that they will hopefully overcome that. I think that they be ranked pretty high, right up there with (two-time defending state champion) Germantown, probably.
Gopher Hole: What is Riley hoping to learn on the visit to Minnesota?
Tom LaChance: Probably, their roster breakdown, number one. Their roster breakdown of next year and who else they are recruiting at point guard. How they plan on using him, if he goes there.
Gopher Hole: Has he talked about when he is going to try to decide on a school?
Tom LaChance: He talked about, probably the second week of October. His high school season starts the second week of November and unless something would come up last minute or something would change, he definitely wants to be committed before his high school season starts, so he enjoys the season and focuses on the team.
Gopher Hole: I know that he picked up a lot of interest after July. Are you kind of surprised in the way that all the schools have expressed in interest in your son or did you always think that he could play at that level, but colleges didn't realize how good he was?
Tom LaChance: I thought that the three guards I had (on Ray Allen Select), because they played for me since they were ten, all three of them were probably one of the most underecruited kids in the country. They all three played well. Reid Timmer committed to Drake. Brady Ellingson has picked up a lot of offers. Iowa has offered both of them. I know that he is down to a couple of schools and Riley was right there. We were used to, for three years being laughed at during warm-ups. I knew that things would happen because I knew how hard those kids worked in the gym. We did a lot of winning in some pretty prestigious tournaments against some athletes, so I am not surprised that it picked up. They bailed because of stereotypes, if you know what I am saying. I had guys writing about them that never saw them play or maybe saw them play for ten minutes and said ‘a player but unathletic.' There is no way that you can play the point guard at a high major without being athletic. The comparisons we had heard are (Indiana guard) Jordan Hulls, (Marquette's) Travis Diener and Gonzaga's Kevin Pangos. We actually got to know Kevin Pangos because he was at the CP3 (Chris Paul) camp and had a pretty experience there.
