as far as Devonte Lane...this reminds me a little of the Lohaus kid committing to UNI soon after they offered...Fran just wasn't ready at that point in time...I have always felt had Lohaus been a little more patient..he would have been offered & been in an Iowa uniform...Lohaus would have been Ellingson...not saying that is good or less good...and I certainly understand why Lohaus grabbed the UNI offer while it was available.
Don't forget when UNI offered Lohaus the summer after his Sophomore year, the hyperactive heart issue was still a major concern. Until he had surgery following his senior year, it was common for Wyatt to dunk his head in a bucket of ice to slow down blood flow. This likely had many schools concerned, ala Hank Gathers at Loyola Marymount. I know Jeremy Morgan was a year ahead of Wyatt, but the offers to each may have helped UNI land, each.
I am sure the Lohaus' felt a loyalty to Ben Jacobson for the early offer. I have no inside information, but I doubt there was little anyone could do at any time to sway Wyatt from UNI. You might have noticed the Panthers offered Western Dubuque's Spencer Haldeman very early, too, perhaps as insurance in case Lohaus' health didn't pan out.
It has been UNI's pattern to offer in state kids early, and often to the exclusion of Iowa and Iowa State. Seth Tuttle turned out to be the best collegian of any Iowa high schoooler in the class of 2010 not named Barnes or McDermott. Our state has more than decent in state talent. UNI has mined it better than anybody, and will have the last 3 Gatorade Iowa players of the year. I think Iowa and Iowa State have taken notice, and are starting to pay more attention to what is closer to home.
I'm of the mind when it comes to Freshman high schoolers, I suppose you could almost toss offers out like candy, because they don't really amount to a hill of beans. A college coach's job is to have the best 19 - 23 year old players he can find. There is no way to know if a 15 year old, guard is going to fit that category. Remember Seth Bonifas from Dubuque Senior, who was offered as a soon to be Freshman in September, 2010 because he was 6-9? He never grew an inch. Never substantially improved, and was maybe 3rd team all state as a senior. MAYBE. Perhaps more likely honorable mention.
Fran, the Bonifas family, and Seth himself knew, he was D2. So, the verbal offer from September 2010 was allowed to evaporate into the wind by the spring of his junior year. He averaged 3 points a game as a Freshman at Missouri Western this season.
Wieskamp likely is tearing up AAU already this spring. If he can average 18 points a game as a varsity Freshman, I bet he looks pretty good against competition that's strictly 15 years old. He's a good shooter at 6-5. That's not easy to find. He has more savvy and court presence than Seth Bonifas will ever have. Bonifas had the body early, but never acquired the skill. Wieskamp has skill. The body likely will fill out. Iowa and Iowa State are hoping he'll add an inch or inches. If his body and skill set don't expand, no harm- no foul, literally, as he'll find his way to his appropriate level, and verbal offers from the spring of 2015 can be treated as ancient history.
Lane impresses me as a player who has always been stronger than others in his age group, but his frame is about maxed out as a Sophomore. 6-1 guards benefiting from brute force rather than skilled shooting are hard to project. If he doesn't get a reliable shot, his upside is tapped out.
Identifying teenagers and projecting if they can play in ___ years involves a lot of luck. It's not a science.
When Seth Bonifas was 6-9 in 2010, Dom Uhl was 6 feet and perhaps still in Germany.
It's easy being Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, and a few others where tradition, coaching, rabid fan bases and a history of NBA players allow for an annual parade of blue chippers.
Harrison Barnes was a Pre Season All American before he ever stepped foot on the floor.
Doug McDermott became a National Player of the Year at Creighton, but, if he had Barne's profile coming out of high school, his dad might still be the coach at Iowa State.
There is no way anybody saw Seth Tuttle being a 2015 All American back in 2010.
As UNI has shown, there is no real downside to getting in early, so, it's wise for Iowa and Iowa State to join suit. However, the fan bases should take a chill pill. It's really only an expression of interest, and that interest can always cool.