LaChance says he’ll make his college decision a week or two after his Iowa visit this week.
Riley LaChance, a 6-foot-2, 160-pound point guard from Brookfield (WI) Central, visited Minnesota this past weekend. Gopher Hole.com caught up with Riley to learn about his visit to the U and his overall recruitment.
Gopher Hole: How was the visit?
Riley LaChance: Good. It went very, very well. The campus was absolutely beautiful. The Barn looks like an incredible place to play in. It was great to spend time with a lot of the guys and coach Pitino and Coach Johnson and all the coaches.
Gopher Hole: I know that you visited Creighton and Vanderbilt officially and Michigan State on an unofficial visit? How did the visit compare to those?
Riley LaChance: This campus is obviously, a lot bigger. It has a lot more students. It is very different in some ways, so it is two opposite ends of the spectrum.
Gopher Hole: What are your plans after this visit? Are you going to go anywhere else?
Riley LaChance: Yes. I am visiting Iowa this Thursday to Saturday.
Gopher Hole: What are you expecting to get out of that visit?
Riley LaChance: Kind of the same thing as every visit. Get a good feel for the guys on the team. Coaching staff. The community there and everything that goes with it playing college basketball.
Gopher Hole: I am sure that you enjoy the visits, but does it in a way make it a little bit more difficult because I am sure that there is something to like about every school?
Riley LaChance: Absolutely, because on an official visit they treated you like gold and there is nothing wrong with that. I appreciate and am thankful for every place that I visited. I have the most respect possible for each and every place that I have visited. Each and every coach on campus and it does make the decision a lot harder.
Gopher Hole: Have you thought about when you are going to try to decide on a school?
Riley LaChance: I am thinking, barring any new offers or anything like that, I am thinking that I’ll take the Iowa visit and probably decide a week or two after that.
Gopher Hole: What is going to be the main factor that is going to make you pick School A over School B or C?
Riley LaChance: I think the team that has a chance to win. A chance to win, a chance to be competitive in the near future. A team where I feel relatable with the coaching staff, with the players. I can see myself going to school there and having success, both academically and on the court. Just a place where I could see myself really fitting in.
Gopher Hole: Do you have a favorite yet?
Riley LaChance: I do not.
Gopher Hole: Is distance going to be much of a factor? Obviously, all the schools are at least five hours away with Minnesota being the closest and Vandy and Creighton being a little bit farther. Is that going to be much of a factor?
Riley LaChance: No, I think that if that did have an effect, I think the schools that it did have an effect on are already ruled out. I wouldn’t say that Minnesota has an advantage over Vanderbilt because it is four hours less. I think that all the schools are in the radius that I wanted it to be in.
Gopher Hole: You are in a state that has Big Ten basketball and you are being recruited by Minnesota and Iowa both. What would it mean to play in that conference, one that you are probably very familiar with?
Riley LaChance: It would be great to come and play at Wisconsin every year. I would love that. Nothing like playing in your home state with your family being able to see you play live and close to where you grew up, so it would be great.