When Los Angeles Times high schools beat reporter Eric Sondheimer first saw Max Hoetzel play as a junior at Calabasas (Calif.) High School, something about his game immediately stuck out. It was something that made Sondheimer believe Hoetzel could be ...
Sunday afternoon, Indiana received its second commitment of the 2014 recruiting class from Wilbraham and Monson (Mass.) forward Max Hoetzel during his official visit to Bloomington. Later Sunday evening, Inside the Hall spoke to the Hoosiers’ newest commit on what ...
When 2014 forward Max Hoetzel made the decision to transfer from Calabasas (Calif.) High School this past August, he wanted to get more exposure heading into his senior year of high school. So, he chose to attend Wilbraham and Monson ...
Since transferring to Wilbraham and Monson Academy (Mass.) from Calabasas (Calif.) High School this past summer, Max Hoetzel has seen his recruitment take off. Well, it's reached another level. Indiana has offered the 6-foot-7 forward as part of its 2014 class, only weeks after discovering him while recruiting his WMA teammate, Goodluck Okonoboh. The offer also comes just after Indiana coach Tom Crean and assistant Kenny Johnson visited Hoetzel in Massachusetts this past Tuesday evening. On Saturday, Hoetzel, along with his parents who will fly in from California, will make the trip to Bloomington for an official visit that will last through Monday.
The Indiana coaching staff was on the road Tuesday, making stops at Huntington Prep in West Virginia and at Wilbraham and Monson Academy in Massachusetts. At Huntington Prep, the staff stopped in to see 2014 guard JaQuan Lyle, the former Evansville Bosse guard who will finish his high school career against an aggressive national schedule. Huntington Prep is also home to other top prospects like Miles Bridges (2016), Thomas Bryant (2015) and Montaque Gill-Caesar (2015). Lyle, the No. 22 prospect nationally in the 247Composite, told Inside the Hall recently that Indiana is a school he's considering in the aftermath of his decision to de-commit from Louisville. He's taken unofficial visits to Connecticut and Memphis this fall, but won't be able to take any official visits until taking the SAT next month. On his Twitter account, Lyle posted the following late Tuesday afternoon: "Shoutout to Coach Crean for coming in after school today."
About three weeks ago, Wilbraham and Monson (Mass.) Academy student Max Hoetzel was at study hall when his basketball coach, Chris Sparks, and Indiana assistant Kenny Johnson walked into the room. They came with a simple message: Indiana head coach Tom Crean was on campus, and he wanted to see Hoetzel work out. Crean and Johnson were originally on campus to watch Goodluck Okonoboh before he travelled to Ohio State and UNLV, but Sparks had convinced Crean to watch Hoetzel. After all, Sparks knew IU had needed a shooter for the 2014 class. And he had one in the 6-foot-7 Hoetzel. Sparks and Johnson had cleared Hoetzel to practice with school administrators by the time they confronted him at study hall. He then left for the gym and practiced under Crean's watchful eye. It was the first contact Hoetzel had with IU's coaching staff. "It was such a humbling experience, I mean, coach Crean is a big deal," Hoetzel said. "But on the other hand, you can't really think about it. You just gotta do what you do."