FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- When the first letter came as an eighth grader, Trevon Bluiett had a response that for a middle schooler would seem completely appropriate.
It came from Illinois, a Big Ten program. And it made Bluiett, for the moment, bypass college basketball entirely, even though his recruitment had barely started.
"I didn't know how they did it, if they sent letters or anything," Bluiett said. "When I got them in the mail, I thought I was going to the NBA or something. That's how good of a feeling it was."