Indiana Hoosiers Basketball Land Recruit #2 for 2014

Indiana has started to address something which everyone will see drastically needs attention for the coming 2014. IU is going to struggle mightily to shoot from range this year and the commitment of California native Max Hoetzel is going to address a lot of those deficiencies next year. Hoetzel is a guy that I don't (and it sounds like many national guys) don't know a whole lot about. He's an under exposed 6'7" shooter that attended a small school in Calabas, CA.

Recently in an attempt to get more exposure he transferred out to Wilbraham and Monson Academy in Massachusetts. You may recognize that school as the same school as Goodluck Okonoboh. You would be right. As Indiana was out there taking a look at Okonoboh they noticed Hoetzel in the workouts and were impressed. The attempt to add exposure worked not just with Indiana. St. John's was also getting very interested in his recruitment. I'm told that San Diego State was also quite interested in his services early on before they filled their need in the class with another player.

I can't tell you a ton about Max other than that because I haven't seen anything other than a couple of youtube highlight videos. It is quite obvious from the videos that he's got range from anywhere in the gym. He also appears to move well and have some pretty good handles for his size. He qualified this summer for the German national team (he holds duel citizenship) but turned the opportunity down to try and get some more exposure stateside. Allegedly the doctor recently told him that his growth plates are still wide open and there's a chance he still adds a couple more inches. If that happens then this could be a major steal.

Until then, we're just going to have to watch his school season closely to get a full grasp on what Hoetzel brings to the table. Some of the national guys will be seeing him this winter and the word is that despite being unranked he's got a good shot at finding his way into the final lists. As a late comer he's not going to finish high even if he's the next LeBron James. The Rivals crew lists up to 150 and 247 puts together a deep list as well. Currently in his unexposed status he's at #295 composite. I expect that to change when some guys get a look at him. Still, Max is currently a specialist as a recruit and could need some time before he fully acclimates to the college game in 2014.