Recruiting Report: Goanar Mar (2017)
October 20th Update Six-foot-7, 180 pound Goanar Mar of DeLaSalle is a four star prospect in the 2017 class. Goanar already owns two state championship medals and played for D1 Minnesota this past summer which was a team that had…
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Continue ReadingOctober 20th Update
Six-foot-7, 180 pound Goanar Mar of DeLaSalle is a four star prospect in the 2017 class. Goanar already owns two state championship medals and played for D1 Minnesota this past summer which was a team that had a really nice season.
Mar visited the University of Minnesota unofficially just under a month ago along with some of the best players in the state. GI caught up with Mar to discuss his time on campus.
“My recent visit to Minnesota was good and some things that stood out were how active the fans were,” said Mar about his time on campus for a recent football game. “I liked the atmosphere at Minnesota all around!”
The Gophers staff has watched Goanar closely as they recruited DeLaSalle teammate Jarvis Johnson last year plus watched Mar and his D1 Minnesota 16 and Under teammates this past summer.
“I like the tempo Minnesota plays at and I think my versatility could bring value there over time,” Mar said about his thoughts on the Gopher program.
Goanar is a four star recruit with offers from DePaul, Iowa State, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Toledo, and Xavier plus interest from several other teams.
“So far Wisconsin, Minnesota, Drake, Arizona, Nebraska, and San Diego have come to either open gyms or a workout and Marquette is planning on coming down and still talking to a few others schools about finding a time to meet them,” Mar said.
With Jarvis Johnson at Minnesota, Sacar Anim at Marquette, and Josh Collins at North Dakota, Goanar moves into a role as the main scorer for DeLaSalle as a junior.
October 6th Update
Goanar Mar has earned high major recruit status with offers from four major conference programs as well as a national top 100 or top 150 ranking by all the major recruiting services.
In addition to offers from DePaul, Iowa State, Xavier, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, and Toledo, Mar is also hearing from schools like Gonzaga, Purdue, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Goanar had an impressive June performance at Badger team camp and he recently went over to Madison for an unofficial visit that included a tour and a football game. Assistant Coach Greg Gard recruits Minnesota for the Badgers and he has been in contact with Goanar.
“Coach Gard said they were pretty impressed with how I was progressing from when they first saw me. They want to stay in close contact. They want me to get stronger and work on my ball handling a little more every day. Attacking the glass harder and being a vocal leader are also some other things they told me they wanted to see before they offered.”
As far as the visit went Mar had an excellent time along with DeLaSalle sophomore teammate Gabe Kalscheur and Armstrong forward Race Thompson.
“We toured the facilities and they were all really nice. After that we went to the football game, which was a lot fun. I thought it was a real good visit.”
The tour included a visit to see Wisconsin take part in their one fall practice per week but Head Coach Bo Ryan was not there.
“We didn’t make it there for the actual practice, but the guys on the team said it went really well,” Goanar said. “Coach Ryan was out of town Saturday so we didn’t get a chance to speak with him.”
“Coach Ryan, he would be a great coach to play for. I’m not sure what’s going to happen with him past this year, but I think Wisconsin will still be a great program.”
Goanar is still in the early stages of the recruiting process. Where he wants to go is totally up in the air at the moment.
“It’s still pretty early for me right now. I’m just building relationships with all the coaches and just trying to stay in contact with them. I wouldn’t say I have any favorites and I’m still keeping things pretty open.”
September 7th Update
DeLaSalle forward Goanar Mar has been with the Islanders for two years and has earned two state championship medals. Now Goanar is the guy leading the Islanders into the next era of DeLaSalle basketball and his team is once again the favorites to win state.
“There is a little bit of pressure there, but the pressure that I’ll be putting on myself in this time, no one is going to put on greater pressure on me than that,” said Mar.
“It is a challenge that I am looking forward to taking. It is going to be tough. Like, it is not going to be easy at all. It is going to be a lot harder than it has been the past few years, for sure, but I think that it is something that we can do. It is very exciting.”
The Islanders return Mar, Samm Jones, and Gabe Kalscheur from their line-up but there are tough junior role players ready for roles and an assortment of talented underclassmen who have the ability to produce for this team.
Goanar prepared himself this summer playing with D1 Minnesota and his team finished on top of the NHR poll at the end of the season.
“I think that it went all right,” Goanar said. “We should have won more tournaments because our team was really talented this summer, but sometimes we lacked playing physical, which against the guys that we were playing against, is a big thing. Otherwise that that, we did all right.”
Mar has offers from Toledo, Xavier, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, DePaul and Nebraska plus interest from Minnesota, Marquette, Indiana, and Wisconsin. How is the process going for Goanar?
“(My) favorite part is just thinking about where all these colleges can take you and the things that you can do if keep your mind right and doing things right.
“Least favorite part is your phone buzzing all the time. Always getting a call from random places.”
Overall Mar continues to progress. He has four high major offers, he is a top 100-150 ranked player in most or all recruiting services, and he is now the front man as his team goes for a fifth state title.
July 2014
Six-foot-7 DeLaSalle forward Goanar Mar was offered by Iowa State a few days ago and Northstar Hoops Report caught up with the Islander talent to get his thoughts.
“I was excited with the offer because I know I get to go to college for free,” Goanar said. “And doing that playing basketball, it’s great.
“Iowa State hasn’t talked to me as an individual but they have talked to my coaches and I know they have a good strong program. They were really good last year.
“I know that Fred Hoiberg is really big in Iowa and he is a good person. I don’t know too much about Iowa State yet but I will learn more soon.”
The Cyclones are just one of several programs calling on Mar who scored just under five points a game for the three time defending state champs last year.
“I’ve heard from Xavier, Ohio State, Purdue, Michigan, Indiana, and Gonzaga, they have all contacted my coaches and talked to them,” said Goanar.
Goanar joined Jarvis Johnson, Sacar Anim, Jeffrey Daubanton, and Josh Collins in the DeLaSalle starting five at Gopher team camp a week where the Islanders beat three outstate teams from Wisconsin, Illinois, and Missouri.
“I think we played all right but we need to get tougher but grabbing more rebounds and just making tough plays, and also being more physical.”
Goanar talked with Minnesota some while on campus.
“When I was there I talked to the Gopher staff a little bit. I think Richard Pitino has a good program going and the team is headed in a positive direction. I like how Pitino lets them play, they are pretty free offensively most of the time.”
Goanar will be in Chicago this weekend and Minnesota is expected to be one of the several programs watching multiple games.
Goanar first showed on the AAU scene playing with the D1 Minnesota 15U squad as a player who was a year younger than the rest of the talent. He’s since moved on to playing with the 16U squad competing against older players once again.
Mar has the ability to face-up and hit with range, face-up and attack the rim with craft and skill, and he can play around the basket using a long frame and secure base for a 15 year old talent. That said, Goanar knows he has much to work on before he can relax in any sort of way.
“I’m focusing on a lot of strength, just getting stronger and I’m also focusing on a lot of ball handling drills.”