Caught up with Eppy and A.J. tonight for an update on their visit to Iowa.
As I mentioned last night, this really kind of worked out well for Iowa, but A.J.'s HS hoops team lost on Friday night, which isn't what he or his family wanted. If they had won, they probably wouldn't have made the trip, so this was good for Iowa. The visit and everything surrounding it took the sting away from the basketball season ending.
Coach Woods and Coach Reid are really leading his recruitment. Woods was a teammate of Eppy at Iowa for three years, so they know each other very well and have been in touch over the years. He said Coach Reid has been at the HS quite a bit when visits are allowed.
They also spent time talking with Coach Ferentz and really speak very highly of him and what he had to say. Very positive feelings towards him. They just talk in general terms about the program and finding the right fit and it's very clear that A.J. is a priority for Iowa.
A.J. said the new facility is amazing. In the past when they have been thru there it was still very much a work in progress. This time it's more of a finished product and he loved it. Said over and over that it was amazing.
The basketball game experience was outstanding for them. On their other trips to Iowa they have just spent it with the coaches and not really around the fans. Since it was last minute, the only way they found out was via Eppy's tweets and that word apparently got around quickly because when they came out of the tunnel fans were chanting "A.J. come to Iowa". He was blown away by it. Eppy was as well. Could not believe it. Fans were coming up to them during the day, people who had watched Eppy play, and saying they wanted A.J. to come to Iowa. He would tell them to go tell A.J. that and they did.
With basketball over, A.J. is going to participate in track and field this spring and throw the shot. So he has some time before that season starts and they are going to be making trips to Notre Dame, Missouri, and Oklahoma in the coming weeks to get a look at their campus. They are taking things slow and not rushing it right now. They feel extremely blessed to have all of the offers so far in the recruiting process.
As I mentioned last night, this really kind of worked out well for Iowa, but A.J.'s HS hoops team lost on Friday night, which isn't what he or his family wanted. If they had won, they probably wouldn't have made the trip, so this was good for Iowa. The visit and everything surrounding it took the sting away from the basketball season ending.
Coach Woods and Coach Reid are really leading his recruitment. Woods was a teammate of Eppy at Iowa for three years, so they know each other very well and have been in touch over the years. He said Coach Reid has been at the HS quite a bit when visits are allowed.
They also spent time talking with Coach Ferentz and really speak very highly of him and what he had to say. Very positive feelings towards him. They just talk in general terms about the program and finding the right fit and it's very clear that A.J. is a priority for Iowa.
A.J. said the new facility is amazing. In the past when they have been thru there it was still very much a work in progress. This time it's more of a finished product and he loved it. Said over and over that it was amazing.
The basketball game experience was outstanding for them. On their other trips to Iowa they have just spent it with the coaches and not really around the fans. Since it was last minute, the only way they found out was via Eppy's tweets and that word apparently got around quickly because when they came out of the tunnel fans were chanting "A.J. come to Iowa". He was blown away by it. Eppy was as well. Could not believe it. Fans were coming up to them during the day, people who had watched Eppy play, and saying they wanted A.J. to come to Iowa. He would tell them to go tell A.J. that and they did.
With basketball over, A.J. is going to participate in track and field this spring and throw the shot. So he has some time before that season starts and they are going to be making trips to Notre Dame, Missouri, and Oklahoma in the coming weeks to get a look at their campus. They are taking things slow and not rushing it right now. They feel extremely blessed to have all of the offers so far in the recruiting process.
