Video: Romeo Langford breaks down three finalists

Class of 2018 New Albany five-star guard Romeo Langford breaks down his three finalists with Eric Bossi of Rivals.com after a practice session at the McDonald’s All-American game in Atlanta:

(Photo credit: McDonald’s All-American Game)

Filed to: Romeo Langford

bob denver

That kid should play poker, hard to read!! If he announces in new albany, no way he goes anywhere but IU, there would be a riot of children in stiped pants!
Ole Man

We all wish that is so, but honestly, I don’t see any correlation.
Most kids announce at their high schools, i.e. at home.
Tty Cook

N’albany has more Louisville fans than IU fans…
James Sasser

Shirt says “Everyone wants to be a legend”, hope he knows that he will only be a legend at one of these schools ??
cyberg8s

Like hearing that KU making the FF doesn’t impact his decision.
Sandra Wilson

I wonder if Gilligan could tell us how many “one and done” players there are in the Final Four this year? The professor probably knows.
iubase

Smart kid. Well grounded. He will do well where ever he goes. I like what he said about Schilling. And Archie. I think this puts us in good position. His parents will certainly impact his decision, and they understand that there will be life after basketball and that is where staying instate helps.
N71

I tried watching this video objectively looking for something that would hint at IU being disqualified…it was really just the opposite effect. I’d put the odds now at 40% IU, 31% KU, 29% Vandy.
Koko

I kinda think it should impact his decision for KU.
KU is in the final four and could win it all now. Repeating
that feat next year would be a tall order….odds not in KU’s
favor. If Romeo wants to be in the final four/win a tournament,
I don’t think KU is the team for him…at least for next season.
We just don’t know what he is thinking in terms of one and done.
In any case he will find out pretty quickly what it is going to take for
him to be one and done or possibly stay a couple years (or more).
In either one of those conferences he is contemplating there are very good
coaches that will figure out his weaknesses and exploit them….how will he
handle that?
plane1972

Yes, but didn’t like the Andrew Wiggins drop. I think that is a really, really good comparison for him to draw from. Self definitely has an advantage over the other two coaches in terms of players in the league and recent results. I do think, though, that if Romeo wanted to go there, he would have found a way to make a visit to Lawrence. Just can’t believe a family that has been this solid and consistent throughout the recruiting process would choose a school without a visit.
Koko

And what does that have to do with Romeo?
Mark Coppock

I can’t disagree.
RonMlarkey

He could be a mute and still go to the league after one year. Dumb post.
marcusgresham

On the flip side, a visit TO Kansas might be to Indiana and Vandy’s advantage when he could see what a desolate wasteland Lawrence is.
Lance76

I remember hearing once that he may announce at Mc Donalds All American game. ( that has changed) My first thought was that may not be great for us with Garland there talking in his ear. It will be interesting to see how often Garland throws him the rock on Wednesday.
Ole Man

No, the dumb post is yours. Why? Because he offered an opinion and included ideas which he felt supported it.
You, on the other hand simply trolled his comment.
Ms hoosier

I think it would be really good for Archie and the coaching staff to go watch Romeo at the McDonald’s game. Hope they do!!
TomEke

Self has that advantage among players he personally coached, but in terms of players who have “been thru the program”, I’d say IU has the best comparisons for Romeo. I’m not sure if Archie could make it happen, but I believe Romeo would benefit, whether he goes to IU or not, from a conversation with:

Eric Gordon
Some things they have in common
-Playing Shooting Guard at 6’4″ (Romeo might be 6’5″)
-Living in an area of Indiana that did not necessarily imply he grew up an IU fan (plenty of Purdue and Butler fans in Indy just like there are plenty of Louisville fans in New Albany)
-Staying 4 Years at North Central instead of leaving for a Prep School
-Falling just short of winning a State Championship as a Senior
-Being Mr. Basketball
-Making a college decision later during his senior year (though I think earlier than Romeo)
-Being a One and Done Talent, but not necessarily the consensus #1 player in his class
-Choosing between in-state and out-of-state schools
-Considering whether to play for a coach who had been at IU for 1 year (I hope the similarities between Archie and Sampson stop here, though Sampson’s .700+ winning percentage at IU is nice) with a potential B1G POTY returning to IU to play down low (I hope JMo grows into a B1G POTY like DJ White did)
-Being someone who EVERY STUDENT ON CAMPUS knows as a Freshman at IU, not only in terms of benefits but also in terms of pitfalls

Wiggins is similar type of talent, but unlike Romeo he chose to play at a prep school, is from a Canada, and plays Small Forward.
Tyler D

He actually makes a decent point, though. He’s looking to play in the NBA not make the National Debate Team. ‘Silent assassin’ is a term we hear fairly often about great players.
inLinE6

Eric Gordon was an IU fan and wanted to play for IU early on. His family wasn’t convinced with Mike Davis’ coaching so he chose Illini originally, seeing them off of a FF run. When Sampson took over, Gordon was quickly rumored to decommit from Illini. This is not a discussion on Sampson’s recruiting tactic so I’ll leave it as that. But as proved again and again, top talent generally don’t leave home. Gordon was consensus #2 player in the country (after Kevin Love), and was recruited by everybody. When he decided IU was probably not the best option (when Mike Davis was HC), he chose the second-closest to his home. So there’s very decent chance Langford will stay home as well.
inLinE6

There’re 2 clear indications he’s IU bound. First, he’ll make a final trip to Bloomington before announcement. It’s unlikely for the family to drive up there just to say no face-to-face. Second, his father would like to make a community event at announcement, to celebrate together with the people at New Albany. It’s not impossible, but hard to imagine an announcement to play for KU or Vandy in front of a strong pro-IU crowd, and call it a celebration. Is the decision made yet? Probably not. But you can read between the lines that there’s a preference. In fact, his father Tim said in January that Romeo could make the announcement now if he was ready. That’s right after the IU unofficial. So I believe his family would like him to stay close, be a local hero, and is convinced Archie is a good coach to bring him to the next level. But they want this to be “his” decision.
KelvinSampson87

I agree with your assessment. Hopefully not wishful thinking.
Kendall Polston

People will come from all around the state to see him announce. Won’t just be New Albany residents.
HoosierEconomist

First point I find inconclusive. Given how generous RL has been with his time, and how well his family has kept this under wraps, I would not be surprised if they were the type of people to turn down Archie in Bloomington. Very respectful family.

Second point I think is spot on.
HoosierMumma

OG
Q46

Interesting to note that none of the “stud” freshmen are in the final 4 this year. These teams all have solid veterans with an occasional freshman in rotation.

I hope Romeo comes to IU because it will undoubtedly make IU a better team next year (honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if he stayed 2 years) and open the door for IU recruiting wise. He’s an incredible talent and will be fun to watch. But I’m more excited to see what we look like when CAMs first recruiting class become upper classmen. That will tell us more about the long term future of this program.
pdhoosier

To aid the economist’s point, it was clarified that the additional visit was upon the request of Coach and his staff, not necessarily a decision from the Langford family. Supposedly Archie wants one last push and have the “last word” on the matter before the decision. I’ll also be worrying about RL playing with Garland for a week in Atlanta, whispering sweet nothings in his ear…
Tty Cook

That wasn’t the implication of the comment I replied to. Read the thread before you comment please.
Tty Cook

I was saying that there won’t be a riot of IU fans in New Albany because there aren’t many down there. I thought it was pretty obvious what my comment had to do with the one i responded to.
3AM Burrito

About at 1:04 marks, says …”after I graduate and go to Indiana (pause) All Star Game”. Wishful thinking he just would stop sentence and go to Indiana! Best of luck whatever he chooses has been a great kid, handled all the attention in such a great way.
YoungHoosier

LOL glad I wasn’t the only one who caught that. That pause threw me for a loop.
Tyler D

No, I’m fairly certain it’s a term to describe a guy who goes about his business without running his mouth and thumping his chest. Not every great player has to lead with his voice. Because the kid doesn’t talk a lot or boast he can’t think or communicate within himself? I think you could be reaching with that, but just my two cents.
TomEke

After 5 years there, I love Bloomington just as much as the next guy, but I’m not sure your argument of Lawrence as a “desolate wasteland” in comparison with Btown stands up — KU is part of a college town just like IU . . .

Populations (google):
Lawrence: 95,358 (Student Body: 28,447)
Bloomington: 84,465 (Student Body: 43,710)

Distance to Nearest Large City:
Lawrence to Kansas City (population: 481,420): 40.3 Miles
Bloomington to Indianapolis (population: 864,771) : 51.6 Miles

If the argument is about the states as a whole, then maybe you have something:
Kansas: 2.913MM people in 82K square miles
Indiana: 6.667MM people in 36K square miles
timamac

Hope you’re right!
N71

Yep, that little snippet along with a couple of his McDonald’s game teammates guessing “Vandy” has me shrinking in confidence a little from earlier today.
RonMlarkey

Your are just a running faucet of nonsense.
bfdm

Believe he said “do the Indiana…All-Star game..”

Also, until recently if you googled “romeo langford”, google listed his university as IU in the sidebar. Seems like someone corrected that recently.
SeeingRed

I have to believe Romeo has made his choice. After a certain point, there’s only so many factors to consider when a kid is down to only three schools. Outside of some issue with a coach or the program, it seems pretty cut and dried.

I hope you’re on the money.
Tyler D

I think what you said is pretty black and white and it’s borderline preposterous. “It’s about involving your speech and tongue in your own movements and choreography. You tell yourself what you’re going to do.” Romeo scored over 3,000 points in his high school career. I don’t think the volume of his voice has negatively impacted his motor skills any.
Fort Steve

If he comes to IU, I hope he can handle the expectations of the fans. Long time IU fans have seen expectations fail with other big names such as Damon Bailey and Luke Recker.
Michael Bender

an example of the “Silent Assassin”….GB QB Aaron Rogers!
calbert40

Who knows what he’s going to do? I like that he’s going back to IU once more to talk to Archie. But he said things in there that could be vaguely taken to be pros for each of the three.

If I had to guess, I think he’s going to IU, but if he picked Vandy, I won’t be surprised at all. I think KU is running in third right now, though.
Vernon Aldrich

Fascinating way to describe talking.
pdn Michael

Your first sentence might be the most important one in this entire thread. The Fab Frosh approach that KY has taken gets watered down when 2 or 3 of each year’s Fabs DON’T go to KY. It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that the fleeting presence of a bunch of these guys ain’t all Calipari cracks it up to be. Meanwhile, players who stay and learn (and play their best ball at the right time of the year like Loyola) are getting to the final four. Experience, teaching, coaching is what is working right now, not stud freshmen. (Even Duke still relied a great deal on Allen). So it seems to me that getting Romeo could be more of a big deal from a symbolic standpoint than from what Indiana might actually get from him on the court. OF COURSE I’d like to have him just so that KY, Purdue et al DOES’T have him, but it’s still not clear to me that obvious ones-and done will do what people assume they will.