Vic Law: Fireworks in Evanston

In a surprise 4^th of July commitment, Vic Law, a 6’7” small forward out of St. Rita’s committed to Chris Collins and Northwestern. Not only is Law the first recruit to sign in Collins’ brief tenure but he is also the first Chicago kid that happens to be ranked in the top 100 by all major recruiting services.

Despite playing in the Big 10 it is rare for Northwestern to sign a player of Law’s caliber. As a Chicago kid both Collins and Law hope that this commitment begins a nice pipeline from the city to the northern suburbs. Last year, first year coach John Groce signed guards Kendrick Nunn and Jaylon Tate out of Simeon, the top public school in Chicago. Now it is another first year coach in Chris Collins making the splash by signing a kid from St. Rita’s, one of the top Catholic schools in the area.

As a junior, Law averaged 14 points and nine rebounds per game in his third season on the varsity squad. His team was upset early on in Sectional play, but he still teamed with upcoming junior Charles Matthews to form one of the most entertaining teams in the Chicagoland area. 

During the spring AAU season, Law started for the Meanstreets AAU team that went 13-6 in the Nike EYBL regular season and advanced to Peach Jam in July. Law averaged almost six points and four rebounds a game during the spring AAU season. In June, Law played in the NBPA Top 100 camp and while he had to leave early due to an injury he managed to have his best game with 12 points against talented wings such as Keita Bates-Diop (Ohio State), Isaac Copeland (Georgetown), and Theo Pinson (UNC). 

While his ranking dropped a bit (ESPN #66, Scout #70, Rivals #80) his defense has stayed strong as Law has the height, length, and athleticism to guard out on the wing and occasionally in the post.

With AAU play about to pick up again, Law can try to spread the word about Northwestern to his current teammates. Right now Collins is also targeting combo forward Paul White out of Whitney Young and point guard Tyler Ulis out of Marian Catholic. White has been on the national stage since he started high school while Ulis is one of the best floor generals in the country. 

While the Wildcat coaching staff is ecstatic with this commitment, coaches from VCU, Dayton, and Georgia Tech have to be disappointed. Shaka Smart and VCU worked hard on Law following him around in LA and Hampton during the first two open recruiting sessions. They recently had him on campus for a visit and the coaching staff hoped that his commitment would open up a Chicago pipeline to Richmond, VA. 

Fireworks will be bright in Evanston, IL tonight as the newly formed coaching staff celebrates their first commitment, while other coaching staffs will regroup to update their July viewing plans.