After frustrating recruitment, Mt. Vernon's Max Vise finds a good fit in playing style
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Max Vise admitted there was some frustration in the recruiting process.
“To be honest, it was super frustrating,” the 6-8 Mt. Vernon senior said. “It was just fuel for me. I’d have a good tournament, I would get a text (from a coach), and then they’d never reach out again. That happened like four or five times.”
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Vise said he was “getting down on myself” at the start of the summer. But he realized there was no use getting exasperated over recruiting. It was out of his control. “I started going to the gym from 5 a.m. to noon and putting the work in and my confidence started to grow,” he said.
The core Indiana Junior All-Star announced his commitment to Bellarmine on Tuesday following an official visit to the Division I program in Louisville, Ky., last week. Vise, who averaged 14.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 blocked shots per game as a junior on the Marauders’ Class 4A state championship team, also considered Ball State and Indiana Wesleyan.
“What appealed to me most (about Bellarmine) was how welcoming they were and as a program they showed they care a lot about teamwork and being together,” Vise said. “That’s something I really appreciated. They chemistry between all of them is really amazing.”
Bellarmine was 13-19 last year, including a 7-11 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Knights, coached by Doug Davenport, have a history of recruiting Indiana and currently have Carmel’s Evan Harrell, Evansville Reitz’s Tucker Tornatta (Valparaiso transfer), New Palestine’s Julius Gizzi (Indiana Wesleyan transfer), Crown Point’s Mason Darrell and Terre Haute North’s Brady Klopfenstein on the roster.
Vise said Miami of Ohio was No. 1 on his list until the program took another player at his position. Kent State was also in the mix. Bellarmine became more involved after the summer.
“They said that based on my size and the way I move so versatile, I can play every position,” Vise said of the Bellarmine coaches. “That’s something they really want from all of their players. They play positionless basketball and that makes me a good fit there in kind of a run and gun style of play.”
Vise shot 65% from the field as a junior, playing his best in some of the Marauders’ biggest games alongside IndyStar Mr. Basketball Luke Ertel. He had 17 points in the 57-54 overtime win over Pike in the regional, then went for 22 points and 10 rebounds in the semistate championship win over New Albany.
As a senior, Vise’s role for Mt. Vernon will become much bigger.
“You could say I was a vocal leader last year, but I think I’m going to have to multiply that 10 times without Luke,” Vise said.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.Get IndyStar's high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: After frustrating recruitment, Mt. Vernon's Max Vise finds a good fit in playing style