Hey guys. I had the chance to speak with someone I trust on the Mathis situation. Anyhow, here's what I was told. From what can be gathered, Mathis is basically down to 3 schools. The general feeling is that it's a 2-horse race between UConn and RU. I was told that at this point, Montez is not leaning in any direction (though he is playing it close to the vest). He is definitely listening to RU and is "intrigued". He has an extremely close relationship with our staff, which is what's keeping us in the game. He sees RU as a program on the rise and trusts that Pike and company are going to turn it around. As for UConn, it's a storied program in his eyes with a roster of legends (Ben Gordon was mentioned). UConn has the history, the Championships, and it's being sold as an easy path to the tourney every year. He also likes that they consistently send players to the league.
My buddy thinks it comes down to whether Mathis wants to be part of the turnaround or part of a sure thing. If he is to choose it's 100% because of his relationship with the staff. This makes me feel better about the situation. Even if he chooses UConn or elsewhere, it is extremely positive news that our staff is able to forge strong relationships with this caliber of player. I know that nothing here is earth shattering news and some of the same stuff I've mentioned earlier, but I like that this is coming from another party.
Also, I was told that this staff is killer in relationship building with some pretty serious ballers. My buddy tends to think if RU shows any signs of improving on last season (which was a pretty nice improvement), they picture being painted by the staff becomes more real to the recruits and we'll see some SHU-level (or slightly above) in the next few cycles.