Hey guys, I did a quick check in with 2022 4-star point guard Aidan Mahaney today. He told me that Stanford remains one of the schools that is recruiting him the hardest. Below is what I posted on the Cal message boards. Half the responses are about Cal and half are about his recruitment in general. I asked him four questions in total. I also offered some commentary on how I'm reading his recruitment at this stage.
Q: Are you still planning to trim your list at the end of the summer? Any changes to that timeline?
A: "Still plan on going through the recruiting process and cutting the list sometime in the upcoming months."
Q: In general, how are things coming with Cal? Regular contact still being made?
A: "Cal contact has been great whether it be text, call, FaceTime, or mail. All has been good. I like the coaching staff for sure."
Q: At the moment, what schools are on you the hardest right now outside of Cal?
A: "Outside of Cal, Xavier, Arkansas, Saint Mary's, and Stanford would be probably."
Q: Any visits set up or taken recently to Cal or elsewhere?
A: "I plan on taking one with Cal shortly. Haven't got a set date yet, though."
As for how I'm hedging things right now, I think Saint Mary's, Stanford, and Cal are the front runners. I don't really have an order in terms of ranking them, but it's definitely those three schools.
Touching more on Saint Mary's, he has a great relationship with their staff as they've been on him for a coon's age. The one coach he does follow on Twitter is Saint Mary's assistant Justin Joyner and a guy I reached out to whose pretty plugged into the recruiting scene seems to feel Saint Mary's is the slight front runner at the moment.
The only question I have with Saint Mary's is the fact that they are Saint Mary's. Nice program, but is Mahaney really down to stay home in Moraga when he has offers from Stanford, Cal, and other high majors on the table? I have a hard time seeing any kid choose Saint Mary's over Cal, Stanford, Xavier, and Arkansas, but maybe Mahaney is different from most kids and isn't bothered by staying so close to home.
In regards to Stanford, his mom is a grad and the Stanford staff as of late have been crushing it on the recruiting trail, so there's no reason to doubt their ability to pull in Mahaney if the really want him. If he gets admitted to Stanford and has the grades, it's tough seeing him pass up a Stanford education and follow in his mom's footsteps.
The only question mark I have with Stanford is the presence of incoming freshman Isa Silva and sophomore guard Michael O'Connell. Just whether or not Mahaney would worry about having his minutes crowded. The fact that Stanford is still on Mahaney as hard they are indicates that they mustn't feel like that's much of a concern.
Looking at the Cal side, they've been on him as hard as any school in the country. Head coach Mark Fox is yet to land a signature recruit for Cal, which is why I think he and his staff are on Mahaney so hard. Plus, they need to get the point guard situation figured out. It's sort of a point guard by committee situation at the moment. So, Cal offers immediate playing time and would certainly look to build their entire team around him. He'd come in and be the starting point guard from day one, something that should appeal to him.
The question marks I have with Cal is (A) the fact that they took a major step back in year two of the Mark Fox era with a 3-17 leaguer record and (B) Fox's recruiting track record up until this point at Cal hasn't been encouraging. Mahaney might not want to come into a rebuild like Cal and prefer to instead come to a program that is more established. But, maybe Fox and his staff have built up enough of a relationship with Mahaney such that they've got his trust that with him on board, they'll look way better.
Lastly, from the Arkansas/Xavier perspective: Xavier offered a little while ago and is a big name in college hoops. Big East conference, etc. They have a lot offer on that side of it. The only question I have with them, is can they offer a good enough package to pry Mahaney away from the Bay Area? I'm honestly skeptical.
Similar deal with Arkansas. They have a lot offer on the basketball side. SEC conference and Eric Musselman has proven to be capable of coaching his teams deep into March. The only question I have with Arkansas is the same as what I have with Xavier. Can they pry him away from the Bay Area?
While I can't really pick a front runner between Stanford, Cal, and Saint Mary's, I do think that they collectively are the front runners given that they are in the Bay Area and collectively offer good options both academically and athletically. It's just a matter of which of those schools stands out to Mahaney the most. But hey, maybe Mahaney will spurn the Bay for Xavier, Arkansas, or maybe even Princeton. Xavier and Arkansas must feel they have a chance. Otherwise they wouldn't be recruiting him as hard as they are.
Anyways, that's my current read of Mahaney's recruitment. Comment below if you have any questions or insights that you want to share from the Stanford side!
Q: Are you still planning to trim your list at the end of the summer? Any changes to that timeline?
A: "Still plan on going through the recruiting process and cutting the list sometime in the upcoming months."
Q: In general, how are things coming with Cal? Regular contact still being made?
A: "Cal contact has been great whether it be text, call, FaceTime, or mail. All has been good. I like the coaching staff for sure."
Q: At the moment, what schools are on you the hardest right now outside of Cal?
A: "Outside of Cal, Xavier, Arkansas, Saint Mary's, and Stanford would be probably."
Q: Any visits set up or taken recently to Cal or elsewhere?
A: "I plan on taking one with Cal shortly. Haven't got a set date yet, though."
As for how I'm hedging things right now, I think Saint Mary's, Stanford, and Cal are the front runners. I don't really have an order in terms of ranking them, but it's definitely those three schools.
Touching more on Saint Mary's, he has a great relationship with their staff as they've been on him for a coon's age. The one coach he does follow on Twitter is Saint Mary's assistant Justin Joyner and a guy I reached out to whose pretty plugged into the recruiting scene seems to feel Saint Mary's is the slight front runner at the moment.
The only question I have with Saint Mary's is the fact that they are Saint Mary's. Nice program, but is Mahaney really down to stay home in Moraga when he has offers from Stanford, Cal, and other high majors on the table? I have a hard time seeing any kid choose Saint Mary's over Cal, Stanford, Xavier, and Arkansas, but maybe Mahaney is different from most kids and isn't bothered by staying so close to home.
In regards to Stanford, his mom is a grad and the Stanford staff as of late have been crushing it on the recruiting trail, so there's no reason to doubt their ability to pull in Mahaney if the really want him. If he gets admitted to Stanford and has the grades, it's tough seeing him pass up a Stanford education and follow in his mom's footsteps.
The only question mark I have with Stanford is the presence of incoming freshman Isa Silva and sophomore guard Michael O'Connell. Just whether or not Mahaney would worry about having his minutes crowded. The fact that Stanford is still on Mahaney as hard they are indicates that they mustn't feel like that's much of a concern.
Looking at the Cal side, they've been on him as hard as any school in the country. Head coach Mark Fox is yet to land a signature recruit for Cal, which is why I think he and his staff are on Mahaney so hard. Plus, they need to get the point guard situation figured out. It's sort of a point guard by committee situation at the moment. So, Cal offers immediate playing time and would certainly look to build their entire team around him. He'd come in and be the starting point guard from day one, something that should appeal to him.
The question marks I have with Cal is (A) the fact that they took a major step back in year two of the Mark Fox era with a 3-17 leaguer record and (B) Fox's recruiting track record up until this point at Cal hasn't been encouraging. Mahaney might not want to come into a rebuild like Cal and prefer to instead come to a program that is more established. But, maybe Fox and his staff have built up enough of a relationship with Mahaney such that they've got his trust that with him on board, they'll look way better.
Lastly, from the Arkansas/Xavier perspective: Xavier offered a little while ago and is a big name in college hoops. Big East conference, etc. They have a lot offer on that side of it. The only question I have with them, is can they offer a good enough package to pry Mahaney away from the Bay Area? I'm honestly skeptical.
Similar deal with Arkansas. They have a lot offer on the basketball side. SEC conference and Eric Musselman has proven to be capable of coaching his teams deep into March. The only question I have with Arkansas is the same as what I have with Xavier. Can they pry him away from the Bay Area?
While I can't really pick a front runner between Stanford, Cal, and Saint Mary's, I do think that they collectively are the front runners given that they are in the Bay Area and collectively offer good options both academically and athletically. It's just a matter of which of those schools stands out to Mahaney the most. But hey, maybe Mahaney will spurn the Bay for Xavier, Arkansas, or maybe even Princeton. Xavier and Arkansas must feel they have a chance. Otherwise they wouldn't be recruiting him as hard as they are.
Anyways, that's my current read of Mahaney's recruitment. Comment below if you have any questions or insights that you want to share from the Stanford side!
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