Recruiting Report: Gabe Wiznitzer (2021)
Hargrave Military Academy is a must stop for almost every division one school in the country and for good reason, they are consistently one of the best and most talented post graduate teams in the country. They have put hundreds of kids at division one levels and have had multiple pros come through as well, so if you’re looking to kick start your recruitment there aren’t many places better to go.
However, it isn’t every year that the Tigers have coaches coming in to look at guys for the future, since most of their kids have already completed their high school careers and are only there for an extra season, hence the term post grad. However, this year is different. While they have seniors that are committed to Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri State and High Point, they also have a 7’0” junior named Gabe Wiznitzer who has become one of the most highly touted prospects in the 2021 class.
After seeing him in the Military Classic a few weeks ago, I caught up with Wiznitzer to discuss a few things. At the time they were coming off of their first loss of the year to the #1 post grad team in the country IMG Academy, but he still seemed optimistic about what the rest of the year has coming for them.
“It’s been going really well so far in 2020, we have a really talented team” Wiznitzer said. “In the first game of Hoop Hall we lost to IMG, which was our first loss but I think we actually came together and bounced back well in our next two games and actually played really well against Orangeville [Canada], so it’s been going well.”
Wiznitzer has been a big reason for their success this year, as the 7’0” big man not only mans the middle but he has a skill set that stretches the defense and opens lanes for his driving guards as well. His ability as a stretch guy at his size has made him very desirable to a number of college programs. He already holds offers from Clemson, TCU, LSU, Penn State, Nebraska, George Washington, ODU, South Florida and DePaul among others, and he says the coaches are continuing to roll through and contact him.
“There’s been a lot of schools recently,” he said. “Cincinatti, Temple, West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio State and some others I can’t think of right now.”
While many see stretch bigs as a system kind of archetype, they are becoming increasingly more popular as teams look to go four and five out more often. What separates Wiznitzer from many of the other stretch bigs is that he’s a legit 7 footer, making him a paint presence on the defensive end and on the glass as well. He’s a guy who can play inside-out, make others better and is a mismatch nightmare, which is what a lot of coaches tell him they want him to do.
“They want me to come in and just be a versatile big. Be a guy that can set screens, run the floor and rebound but also like that I can pick-and-pop, score with my back to the basket, post up and make good passes out of the post, stuff like that. Hargrave has made me focus on just playing hard and getting in better shape and that’s really helped.”
Hargarve has not only helped him on the court, but it has been a launching point for his recruitment as well. While many schools are just now getting involved with him, he’s been active in his own recruitment as he’s already took unofficial visits to Clemson, George Washington and Georgia Tech. Says he wants to take visits to Ohio State, West Virginia and Cincinatti, but is going to wait until after the season to set dates and choose his places for his official visits.
The tricky part for some schools is which class they want to recruit him in. Wiznitzer came to Hargrave with the intention of spending another year there on the postgrad team, but his high level of play this season and his good academics have many schools hoping that he’ll consider coming out in 2020 since he can. It’s a decision he’s aware of but says he’s not sure what he’s going to do at this point.
“I’m a ’21, but I can come out ’20 if I want, I’m just not sure honestly. If I find the right program in ’20 and it makes sense, then there’s a possibility for sure. Honestly, it’s still up in the air.”
Whether he chooses to come out this year or next year, he has a good understanding of what he’ll be looking for in a school, and he says he isn’t interested in being someone’s last minute fill in.
“I’ll be looking at how I’ll be utilized in their system and what things they’re kind of looking for. I’m not trying to go to a school where they’re in desperate need and they just started recruiting me at the end, I want to have that relationship and know that they’ve been wanting me and I can come in and have a big role with their team.”
When asked why college coaches should recruit him, he says it’s not just about his skill set but the way he approaches the game as a teammate and a student as well.
“I would say I’m a good teammate, I play hard, I can be coached really hard and I’m a skilled big that can be coached and get better.”
The South Carolina native continues to blossom and blow up on the recruitment scene, and this summer will be a big one for him. He says he plans on playing AAU but isn’t sure who he’s going to be playing for, and I’m sure his April live periods will be full of coaches trying to persuade him to come in either year. Whoever he plays for, expect those baselines to be very crowded all summer long.