2018 point guard Robert Phinisee is looking to lead McCutcheon back to the state finals this year. He’s going through the recruiting process at the same time. Here’s a full look at Phinisee’s game, recruitment and projection.

Robert Phinisee had a great sophomore season at McCutcheon. He helped the Mavs to the state championship game before falling to New Albany. He has McCutcheon in the extremely tough Logansport Regional this weekend. Phinisee says this team is on par with last year’s group.

“I say, we are better offensively (compared to last year’s team.) Defensively, we’re pretty active but not as active as last year. We’re still pretty much as good as we were last year,” Robert Phinisee told Indiana Basketball Source.

If McCutcheon is similar to last year’s team, it’s because Phinisee has stepped up his game. Despite increased defensive attention, Phinisee has improved in every area of the game. His outside shooting has become more consistent. He is finishing through contact at a higher rate. Plus, Phinisee has upped his assists per game to 6.9 a game.

Much of Phinisee’s improvement can be attributed to his physical development. He is in the 6-foot range now instead of 5-10. The junior guard has also filled out in terms of strength. The added muscle has improved his athleticism and has allowed him to make plays he couldn’t last year like finishing through contact at the basket.

“I feel a lot stronger,” Phinisee said of his physical development. “I had three or four and-1s (against Kokomo), so I just keep getting in the weight room and developing as a player, so I can translate to the next level.”

The next level is definitely calling Phinisee. He has scholarship offers from Purdue, Butler, Indiana and Virginia. Hometown Purdue has been perceived as the team to beat in Phinisee’s recruitment.

“Them (Purdue) being close to home is a big thing plus I’m close to Coach (Matt) Painter and Coach (Jack) Owens,” said Phinisee of Purdue.

Phinisee made it sound like his recruitment by Butler could be impacted by a 2017 point guard.

“If they don’t get the Mark Smith kid in the 2017 class, they want a 2018 guard to play with Kamar Baldwin. So, they (Butler) just want me to keep getting better, and think I’d be a great fit there.”

Virginia came into Indiana in the 2016 class to get Kyle Guy. He’s having a solid freshman year in the ACC. Virginia is looking to steal Phinisee out of the state in 2018.

“It was a great visit,” Phinisee commented about Virginia. “My mom really liked Coach (Tony) Bennett. It’s a family-oriented program.”

Indiana is staying in the mix with Phinisee as well.

“Position-less basketball,” Phinisee said of Indiana. “That’s the main thing I like. They play really fast.”

Ohio State is reaching out to Phinisee as well. He took a visit to Columbus recently for a game.

“Ohio State, I visited them against Northwestern. Coach (Greg) Paulus contacts me, at least, twice a week. They want me to go back there and take a visit with my mom.”

As seen above, Robert Phinisee is taking his recruitment seriously, but it doesn’t seem like he is too caught up in it. Phinisee appears to do a great job of staying in the moment while he’s on the court. His competitiveness stands out each time he takes the floor.

Phinisee’s mind is currently on the state tournament.

“Those two losses made us a better team, so besides those two, we feel like we can go out and make a state run again.”