While most high school prospects don't see their recruitments really start until following their sophomore season, 2023 Asheville (N.C.) School big man Gus Yalden already has high-major offers and garnered interest from a handful of other programs around the country.
Originally from the midwest, the Wisconsin native is humbled by the early recruitment success, but knows he has a long way to go before he reaches his goals.
"It’s completely flattering and validates all those sayings about 'hard work paying off' but those interest and offers aren’t really something to bank on," Yalden told TheHoosier.com. "Just means I gotta do what I’ve been doing and even more."
For the 6-foot-9 forward, Rutgers, Utah and Cal State Northridge are the three programs that have extended offers, but programs such as Cincinnati, Georgia, Florida, Missouri, Stephan F. Austin, Louisville and Indiana are all some of the schools that he has been in contact with.
Having a nickname of 'Baby Jokic', due to his play resembling Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic, it's easy to see why there is so much interest in Yalden.
"That [Jokic] and Kevin Love. Both comparisons are very flattering cuz both dudes are extremely talented," Yalden said. "I'm a hybrid with low block presence and back to basket moves, mixed in with catch and shoot perimeter skills and a sneaky ability to handle, push and pass."
While Yalden's communication with Indiana is all about building the relationship, it is a school that he already knows a lot about. Yalden's great uncle, Danny Danielson, was on the Indiana University Board of Trustees from 1958 to 1980. In 1967, the vote by the board members to begin construction of Assembly Hall was approved unanimously. Since then, the family has always had a connection to Indiana.
"I really only watched basketball. We didn't really tune in for a football game but I did catch a baseball game in Omaha at the College World Series when I was living in Nebraska," Yalden said. "It [Indiana] sure checks a lot of boxes with academics, coaching staff, facilities, BIG 10, huge fan base and a ton of tradition. And those warm up pants are legendary."
So far, all of Yalden's communication with IU has been with assistant coach Mike Roberts, due to his ties to the North Carolina area.
"He is super positive and seems excited about me as a player. I call him once a week to check in," Yalden added. "It's pretty light hearted talk about how I’m doing and he asks what I’m doing in my workouts and my schedule and a lot about Asheville."
For someone who just finished up their freshman year of high school, Yalden is a gym rat and always wants to be on the court working on his game. With COVID impacting that for most of the past handful of months, it has been a great couple of weeks with AAU starting up and being able to return to live action. Playing for Team Griffin, Yalden has been in action the past two weekends and has seen mixed results, but is still excited to be back playing the game he loves..
"Last weekend I was trash, slow, missed easy buckets, three point shot was off and I had more turnovers than assists. This weekend I rolled my ankle at practice Friday night so I think that forced me to slow down a little which was good," Yalden said. "I took my time on my moves and didn’t rush or force anything. I wasn’t really snatching the boards cuz my ankle and jumping hurts so I had to keep the ball alive by tipping it. I adjusted and when I'm comfortable I just exploited mismatches as they threw them at me.
"It was great to get up and down and put all those practice reps into live games," Yalden added. "Nothing better than playing basketball in my opinion."
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