Patrick Baldwin on Recruiting Rumors: "People Just Straight Make Things Up"
Class of 2021 prospect Patrick Baldwin Jr. is sidelined for the rest of his senior season, following an ankle injury. He discussed his injury and his recruitment—including rejecting some rumors about his decision—with Sports Illustrated All-American.
Baldwin is down to a final 10 of Duke, Georgetown, Kentucky, Michigan, Northwestern, North Carolina, UCLA, UW-Milwaukee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
He’s currently out two to three months with torn ligaments in his ankle, after getting injured in the second game of the season. “I went up for a layup in transition and there was a bunch of congestion around my feet when I landed and I fell straight on my ankle,” Baldwin told SIAA. “I had to go to the ER and they gave me a boot. I’ll be out, but the good news is that there won’t be any long-term issues, which is super good. It’s still frustrating because I’m away from the game I love and my team.”
In his down time, he’s been focused on his recruitment.
“I’ve been talking to coaches pretty much every day, whereas before I was doing it once or twice a week,” Baldwin said. “I don’t have a timeline for a decision, but February or March sounds the most realistic. That’s about as far out as I’ll push it. I’m just enjoying the conversations with the coaches right now; they’re so interesting.”
Baldwin also mentioned rumors that he’s secretly cut his list to two schools. The online rumor mill has those schools pegged as either UW-Milwaukee and Northwestern or UW-Milwaukee and Duke.
“It’s weird because I just feel like people just straight make things up,” Baldwin said. “I’ve never said it’s a two-horse race, so, of course, that’s not true. I mean I could see where the speculations came from, I mean Duke offered me when I was a freshman, and my dad is obviously at Milwaukee. It’s definitely not a two-horse race, but they’re definitely strong candidates.”
