Chris Mack has macked out his 2019 recruiting class today with the commitment of Aidan Igiehon.
Louisville suit and all, Aidan Igiehon is a Cardinal. pic.twitter.com/WilVB2Viq2
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) October 19, 2018
Igiehon is a 6’10 215 lbs hulk that plays for Lawrence Woodmere Academy in Woodmere, NY. He is originally from Ireland. His addition gives the Cards a full house class.
Igiehon is a 4 Star C that has previously been ranked as a 5 Star. 247sports has him listed as the 44th overall player in their 2019 composite rankings. He chose UofL over Oregon, St Johns, and UK. Luke Murray was his primary recruiter.
As UofL fans have become aware of, Mack utilizes a system with one C anchoring the post and 4 wings and guards surrounding him. UofL’s 2019 class had all the pieces to fit the system with David Johnson, Samuell Williamson, Josh Nickelberry, Jaelyn Withers, and Quin Slazinski. It was missing the anchor in the post.
Everyone knew Mack had zeroed in on Igiehon. He offered him on March 28th, right after his hiring. Igiehon then visited campus unofficially on June 28th. Then, on September 28th, Igiehon came to the inaugural Louisville Live event at 4th Street Live and appeared to really enjoy his visit. Now, the long recruiting road has ended with his commitment.
When viewing Igiehon’s highlights, it’s easy to see the 5 Star talent he possesses and the reason why he was highly coveted. Here are some of the particular things I noticed.
Physical Size/Athleticism
The very first attribute I noticed in regards to Igiehon is his size. He’s built like a tank. He could literally step on the floor right now and play for UofL. Power is not something Igiehon lacks. In the post, Igiehon is hard to handle for any opponent. He will back them down and dunk on them or move them out of the way for a rebound putback. As far as his dunks, he is a power dunker in the mold of Trez. He punishes the rim with fury.
With his great power, comes great…athleticism! Igiehon gets up and is an above the rim player. As mentioned above, he loves to dunk. He rises with ease to dunk the ball.
Recently Igiehon has shown an ability to face up and drive to the rim as well. In the highlights above, you see him drive and actually dish for an assist.
The athleticism also shows up in his rebounding. Igiehon attacks the board, leaping above others to grab the ball rather than waiting for it to come to him.
Jumper/Baby Hook
Igiehon is still relatively raw offensively. His game is still developing and it’s noticeable that he works on it. The two areas of offense you can see he has put in work on are his jumper and his go to post move the right-handed baby hook.
The baby hook works beautifully for Igiehon. He has nice touch on it and with his power and athleticism he can get it over the top of defenders of equal height. I would bet Coach Mack helps him develop a left-handed baby hook that will make him almost impossible to stop in the post.
To compliment his dunking and his hook shot, Igiehon has developed a nice 15-17 foot jumper. In the highlights, you see him face up, use a little jab step to create space, and hit a baseline jumper. Then you see him catch a pass and hit a jumper from the foul line/elbow area.
With his strength and developing shot, Igiehon could become an excellent pick and pop and pick and roll big. Consistency will be the key with his nicely developing jumper.
Rebounding
Igiehon is an aggressive rebounder on both ends of the floor. He attacks the glass, jumping up and aggressively seizing the ball from the air.
With his power, it will be hard to foresee anyone winning a rebounding battle with him. He should be able to block out opponents and get the ball.
Attitude
Igiehon has swagger and passion. It appears that he wants to be the strongest and best player on the floor and he plays like it.
When he dunks, he dunks to intimidate and announce his presence with authority. He will howl with delight after he dunks it or makes a play much like Trez did. Igiehon won’t be intimidated, he will be the intimidator.
Shot Blocking
Igiehon should be a good rim protector. He is long and his athletic ability will allow him to alter and block shots. Though shot blocking is not something Mack emphasizes with his pack line defense, it’s nice to have a big guy who can erase occasional mistakes.
Offensive Awareness
I know it’s just highlights, but I love Igiehon’s offensive awareness. He knows where to be and where to move and appears to know how to keep offensive spacing.
Igiehon lurks on the baseline and will move as the offense does to set up a passing lane for a driving guard to dish the ball to him for a dunk.
Igiehon has a nice highlight where he has the ball facing up about 15 feet from the basket. He initiates a give and go. He passes to a teammate, then cuts to basket, and gets the bucket.
Igiehon plays to his strengths and, as he develops his game, his offensive awareness could make him a star player.
Physicality
To match the attitude I mentioned earlier, Igiehon is physical. You can have attitude and power, but if you shy away from physical play, those attributes don’t mean squat. Igiehon embraces contact and physicality.
He loves to bang down low and get and-ones. Speaking of and-ones, he’s good at finishing through contact and getting to the line. If Igiehon wants to get to a spot on the floor, he won’t be stopped. Mack will have to keep him from being too reckless with his physical play as it could get him into foul trouble.
Louisville HC @CoachChrisMack checking Twitter for commitment… "uh oh, L's up." pic.twitter.com/w0U2Y5aDEy
— Michael McCammon (@mcmichael20) October 19, 2018
Chris Mack got his number 1 C target. The anchor in the paint of his 1 in and 4 out offensive philosophy. Igiehon fits everything Mack looks for in a post player to a T; he’s physically strong and plays like it, he’s a tough rebounder, he’s a finisher around the rim, and he has a beast mode attitude on the floor.
If Igiehon’s skill continues to develop, it will give Mack a post player he’s never really had. And I fully expect Igiehon to continue to develop under Mack’s tutelage.
Blessed to say I’ve committed to the University Louisville@CoachChrisMack #GoCards. CARD NATION ARE YOU READY? pic.twitter.com/VoMBDbe0Mc
— Aidan Harris Igiehon (@Big_harris22) October 19, 2018
UofL got the crown jewel for its 2019 class in Aidan Igiehon and will now have a full deck of Cards.
