[Cracked Sidewalks] Recruiting Heats Up for Marquette

[CrackedSidewalksSays]

Recruiting Heats Up for Marquette

Written by: noreply@blogger.com (Tim Blair)

While a segment of the Marquette fanbase is anxious because the program currently lacks a commitment from the class of 2011, Coach Buzz is blanketing high-quality talent.  With a relatively young roster Coach Buzz is being more selective this time around, and that selectivity involves a number of nationally-ranked recruits most of whom would be immediate contributors as freshmen.

Forwards
Last week Juan Anderson from Castro Valley, California took an official visit to MU. Anderson is a 6'6" natural wing whom Scout.com rates as the best wing player on the West Coast. Anderson is down to Marquette, Arizona State and California.

This weekend 6'7" top 50 target SF Rodney Hood will be on campus for his official visit.  A four-start stud from Meridien, Mississippi Hood has offers from just about everybone and is visiting MU along with Louisville, Alabama, Georgia Tech and FSU. This guy is big-time.

6'8" Jarion Henry is also considering MU.  The small forward from Dallas Kimball High School excels in transition and currently has offers from MU, Arkansas, Fresno Sate and UTEP, with others lingering, according to Rivals.com.  Henry is expected to be at Marquette Madness in a few weeks.

With the departures of both Joe Fulce and Jimmy Butler after this season, landing a high-ceiling small forward is priority for the program. Hood, Anderson and Henry  fit the mold of athletes that Coach Buzz prioritizes -- skilled, athletic players how can play multiple positions well.

The baseline
Along the baseline MU is actively pursuing 6'8" Mike Shaw, 6'8" Quincy Miller, 6'9" Trey McDonald, 6'8" Luke Mergerson, and perhaps 6'8" Tre Leonard.

Mike Shaw, a smooth  6'8" combo forward from Chicago DeLaSalle High School, is considering MU, West Virginia, DePaul, Illinois and Notre Dame.  Buzz had an in-home with Shaw earlier this month -- but so did the other guys.  Landing Shaw would be a signal once again about MU's strong presence in Chicago, as well as a blow to Flatlander institutions in particular.

Quincy Miller is a 6'9" Chicago product who is finishing out high school at Westchester Academy in North Carolina.  Miller is one of the top 10 players in the nation, one of the two best forwards in the entire country. Miller has already visited Louisville and is considering Baylor, Kentucky, Texas, Marquette and perhaps Duke.  It has been reported that Baylor and Louisville lead for Miller.  It is noteworthy that current MU freshman Vander Blue was Miller's teammate last summer on the Team USA Basketball at 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.  That squad took home the gold medal.  Landing Miller would be a coup, but it says here Buzz should not hold out for the kid if Shaw is ready to commit.

Trey McDonald is a 6'9" power forward from Battle Creek, Michigan.  McDonald is drawing interest from MU, Minnesota, DePaul, Wake Forest and several others.  McDonald is also expected to be at Marquette Madness in a few weeks.

Another big MU is looking at is 6'8", 230 pound forward Luke Mergerson from Duncanville, Texas. Tulane, Cornell, Boston College, Georgetown, Notre Dame and a many others are checking in on the big Texan.

Tre Leonard, an under the radar recruit, may or may not be visiting MU this week* (*this just in, Twitter can muddy the waters with recruiting).   For now the interest from MU is just a rumor but Leonard hails from Wakefield High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, the same program that produced Darius Johnson-Odom. Leonard is a bit of a mystery in that he's been only lightly recruited by high-majors to date, but at 6'8" and 280 pounds perhaps he screams potential.

Shooting guards
D'Angelo Harrison, a 6'3" shooting guard from Missouri City (Dulles), Texas, has been a priority for some time.  Harrison is considering MU along with Baylor, St. John's and Oklahoma State. Harrison is one of the best shooters in the nation and is expected to be at Marquette Madness in a few weeks.

High-scoring Nick Faust -- fresh off of a dominant summer which saw his national profile skyrocket -- is considering MU, Maryland, FSU, Oregon State and perhaps Villanova.  A month ago it appeared that Faust might be down to MU and Maryland, which turned out not to be the case.  Coach Buzz completed an in-home with Faust earlier this month but an official visit to campus has yet to take place.

MU has been mentioned lately with freak-athlete/wing guard Deuce Bello, who teams with Miller at Westchester Academy in North Carolina.  Bello has not set up an official visit to MU but Miller has indicated the two might be a package deal.  This feels like another long shot, and we'll likely gain more clarity around the Miller/Bello situation after the pair visit Baylor this weekend.

The next six weeks will be pressure-packed for MU on the recruiting trail.  With just three scholarships to offer for next season (ha!), Coach Buzz is right to be selective but he'll work to avoid being aced out at any position of need.  One thing we are confident about is that when it's all said and done, we expect another high-quality recruiting class on campus next fall.  Buzz's history plus the slew of targets (that we know about) means that good things should come to fans who are patient.

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PS - Don't forget to donate to Al's Run, supporting Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.  Every little bit helps.

http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2010/09/recruiting-heats-up-for-marquette.html

[willie warrior]

Love to hear this stuff, but the bar is high for some of these guys.

If we could land two of these , but not holding my breath. The fact that we are somewhat close is great, but we must land some.

[martyconlonontherun]

I think being realistic I would be happy with just getting the 2 guys scheduled for MU Madness. If you come up with a talented big and a sharp-shooter no one should really complain. Shaw or Miller would make this class elite if you get one of them with Harrison.

[NYWarrior]

I think being realistic I would be happy with just getting the 2 guys scheduled for MU Madness. If you come up with a talented big and a sharp-shooter no one should really complain. Shaw or Miller would make this class elite if you get one of them with Harrison.

Looks like Mike Shaw is scheduled for Marquette Madness as well,

http://twitter.com/Markedman5/status/26004059053

[Ready2Fly]

A top notch sg like Harrison or Faust would be the perfect replacement for DJO after a year of seasoning, (or right away when he leaves early for the NBA). And one of those 6'8" guys has to look at our situation and see a screaming need in the post he could fill. How long have we been saying that though. On top of that, a guy like Anderson has to see the Butler and Fulce departures as an opportunity too. Nice list, I feel a commitment coming soon after madness. My prediction is Anderson breaks the 2011 seal, with McDonald soon to follow. Any one of the others listed above on top of that is just icing on the cake.

[MarkCharles]

Looks like Mike Shaw is scheduled for Marquette Madness as well,

http://twitter.com/Markedman5/status/26004059053

Nice!! That is great news. There is going to be a star-studded recruiting lineup in town in the coming weeks. Lets get Faust up for Madness as well so they can all talk to each other.

Great post by Cracked Sidewalks. I'll take any of the guys on their list, with the exception of Tre leonard. We already have him on the roster, his name is Devante Gardner.

They also left off Tony Kimbro, and there are always JUCOs that come out of nowhere.

[NYWarrior]

They also left off Tony Kimbro, and there are always JUCOs that come out of nowhere.

Kimbro was an oversight, will include him next time around.   Derrell Robertson as well.  Buzz casts a wide net.

[MarkCharles]

Some food for thought...

As I look at all the players we are recruiting, I notice that there is one position totally absent: point guard. At the beginning of the summer we were involved with multiple pgs like Naadir Tharpe and Myles Mack. Their interest in us has waned, but it is interesting to me that Buzz hasn't (to our knowledge) continued to go after pgs for this class.

What I take from this is that maybe Buzz really likes the 2 young pgs currently on the roster, Cadougan and Smith, and that he sees it as less of a priority. Hopefully, Buzz sees the pg position as being pretty settled for the next few years. This would be a great development.

[martyconlonontherun]

Some food for thought...

As I look at all the players we are recruiting, I notice that there is one position totally absent: point guard. At the beginning of the summer we were involved with multiple pgs like Naadir Tharpe and Myles Mack. Their interest in us has waned, but it is interesting to me that Buzz hasn't (to our knowledge) continued to go after pgs for this class.

What I take from this is that maybe Buzz really likes the 2 young pgs currently on the roster, Cadougan and Smith, and that he sees it as less of a priority. Hopefully, Buzz sees the pg position as being pretty settled for the next few years. This would be a great development.

That and we only have 3 spots to fill. If you can get top 100 guys at different positions, you always have next year to get a PG that will actually be Big East talent. No point filling a spot on people that won't make an impact.

[Daniel]

That and we only have 3 spots to fill. If you can get top 100 guys at different positions, you always have next year to get a PG that will actually be Big East talent. No point filling a spot on people that won't make an impact.

+1 Maybe Buzz feels confident enough with JC and Smith to back off this year, and make it a priority next year.  We have Junior 2 more years after this, and Reggie 4.  So sounds like a good strategy.

[DiaperDandy]

Not to mention Vander could possibly be seeing some time at the point as well.

[martyconlonontherun]

+1 Maybe Buzz feels confident enough with JC and Smith to back off this year, and make it a priority next year.  We have Junior 2 more years after this, and Reggie 4.  So sounds like a good strategy.

Is Reggie redshirting this year? 

[avid1010]

I really have no idea how the recuiting thought process plays out for somoene like Buzz, but I wonder two things:

1.  Doe he look for immediate impact players for this team because those are really the only high caliber players that are going to be interested in MU because of their talent level?  In other words, would a high-average recruit shy away from MU because a lack of playing time, but a high level recruit would feel more comfortable knowing he's likely to see playing time on a solid team?

2.  Is there power in numbers?  Obviously you have to be in on a kid to land him, but how do kids look at schools that are in on a ton of top talent.  Are kids looking at MU and thinking they should maybe be quicker to committ in order to get a spot, or do they feel less important to MU because they know MU is interested in many top player that fit their mold?  Do they worry they could committ and MU could still sign another top player of the same mold, thus limiting their playing time? 

[Daniel]

Is Reggie redshirting this year? 

LOL Marty!  Touche! My bad.  3

[mikem91288]

Any chance we only sign two and Singleton gets a schollie next year?

[MarkCharles]

Any chance we only sign two and Singleton gets a schollie next year?

If we can only get 2 guys we like and have an open scholarship I don't see why we wouldn't give Singleton a scholarship, if only on a 1 year basis. But I really doubt Buzz won't fill this class up. Its obvious that he wants to get as many good players as he possibly can.

There was some talk that if we couldn't get our targets we might bank a scholarship for 2012 because of the loaded in-state class, but I think the national focus of Buzz's recruiting will preclude this from happening.

[MarkCharles]

I really have no idea how the recuiting thought process plays out for somoene like Buzz, but I wonder two things:

1.  Doe he look for immediate impact players for this team because those are really the only high caliber players that are going to be interested in MU because of their talent level?  In other words, would a high-average recruit shy away from MU because a lack of playing time, but a high level recruit would feel more comfortable knowing he's likely to see playing time on a solid team?

2.  Is there power in numbers?  Obviously you have to be in on a kid to land him, but how do kids look at schools that are in on a ton of top talent.  Are kids looking at MU and thinking they should maybe be quicker to committ in order to get a spot, or do they feel less important to MU because they know MU is interested in many top player that fit their mold?  Do they worry they could committ and MU could still sign another top player of the same mold, thus limiting their playing time? 

#1 is a really good point, and an angle that I haven't really thought of before. Thats a situation very few teams in America find themselves in. Not sure if we're quite there yet, but I am hopeful.