[Cracked Sidewalks] Transfer Murray or Prep Jarion Henry ahead of JUCO All-Americans on wish list

[brewcity77]

Easter weekend?  Let's hope for some awesome spring weather.

(It can't hurt)

Looks like early forecasts are calling for mostly mid-50s but with a bit of rain.

http://www.timeanddate.com/weather/usa/milwaukee/ext

I have to imagine he'll at least give us a look before he commits to DePaul, but my hope is that Buzz finds a way to get him to commit before he heads to WVU. I hate the idea of losing this kid to WVU. Buzz needs to keep some players on campus over Easter weekend and put the full-court press on this guy. He'd be a huge get, both literally and figuratively.

[marquette99]

A great sign that murray is coming, since - as some have pointed out - so far all the stories that had talked about marquette wanting him had not said he had interest in us.  As least we know there is some level of interest.  I will order my 2013 final 4 tickets if he signs :-)

But I like that he is visiting so that if he doesn't like mu on his visit, coached will know and move on to the next best available

[Stretchdeltsig]

Adding an athletic "big" to the team will put Marquette over the edge.  We will be a super team that opponents will have to take very seriously.  My fingers are crossed that Buzz can land the best possible "big" soon!

[Dr. Blackheart]

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/colleges/la_salle/20110413_Former_La_Salle_center_Murray_may_visit_Kansas__sources_say.html

With Philly's Morris Brohs headed to The League, Self & Kansas moving in on Murray.

[brewcity77]

I hope Buzz can lock up a commitment next weekend. I have a feeling if Murray leaves town, he'll end up signing elsewhere. Especially with Kansas in the mix.

[marquette99]

Agreed, and.it may be tough to sign him on campus if he knows he has a kansas visit scheduled. At least kansas is now coming off consecutive disappointing tournaments instead of off a national title run.  Hopefully murray will realize he is the final piece that could give mu a final 4 run (see 2003), and building on the sweet 16 run will have more appeal than a kansas program that has slipped up since winning it.

[TedBaxter]

One player I thought Buzz might get involved with was 6-9 Cheikh Mbodji from Grayson (TX) College via Senegal.  Grayson County is very close to where Buzz grew up, but Marquette was never listed with him and Mbodji picked Cincinnati and signed with the Bearcats today.

http://www.zagsblog.com/2011/04/14/cincinnati-lands-6-9-juco-forward/#more-50703

[ChicosBailBonds]

Agreed, and.it may be tough to sign him on campus if he knows he has a kansas visit scheduled. At least kansas is now coming off consecutive disappointing tournaments instead of off a national title run.  Hopefully murray will realize he is the final piece that could give mu a final 4 run (see 2003), and building on the sweet 16 run will have more appeal than a kansas program that has slipped up since winning it.

Yes, but they still got farther than Marquette.  It also says something when a team gets to the Elite 8 and is disappointed while another team gets to the Sweet 16 and is beyond excited.  KU expects to be in the Final Four each year, win the Big 12, top 5 team, etc...I would love to have those expectations but we're not there yet.

[Lennys Tap]

  KU expects to be in the Final Four each year

Talk about a team that rarely meets "expectations". Reality is that Self loses in the first weekend more often than he makes the Final Four. Is it time for him to go?

[GGGG]

He won a national championship. He isn't going anywhere.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Talk about a team that rarely meets "expectations". Reality is that Self loses in the first weekend more often than he makes the Final Four. Is it time for him to go?

As a KU alum, I think we can do better.  A lot of my Jayhawk brethren disagree.  Self is a good coach and a good guy, that goes a long way. I don't dislike him and certainly the Jayhawks could do a lot worse.  My concerns are more with the regular season and too many unexplainable games.  How KU was even pushed by UCLA this year at Phog Allen is incredible.  UCLA was not that good.  Getting destroyed by K-State...ugh.  Beating USC by 2 points.  Struggling mightily against Iowa State. 

The NCAAs are a crap shoot.  I thought they were a bit over ranked all year so not getting to the Final Four did not surprise me...losing to VCU, however, did surprise me.

If Self were to leave, I would not shed a tear.  If he stays, that's fine, too.  He's good enough to win but KU could get someone better if he left.  He's like Barnes do me, only Self has a title thanks to Memphis choking big time a few years ago.

[bamamarquettefan]

Yes, but they still got farther than Marquette.  It also says something when a team gets to the Elite 8 and is disappointed while another team gets to the Sweet 16 and is beyond excited.  KU expects to be in the Final Four each year, win the Big 12, top 5 team, etc...I would love to have those expectations but we're not there yet.

I don't believe that there is any disagreement that KU is on a higher tier than Marquette.  The question is whether or not a player like Murray might be drawn by being the guy that can take a Marquette into Final Four contention, vs. going to Kansas where they have a shot at the Final Four with or without him.  Yes, being a Final Four team is different than being good enough to be a Final Four team, but this year was unusually with no No. 1s or No. 2s in the tourney.  The goal if we landed Murray would be to be a No. 1 or No. 2 seed and have our best possible shot at a Final Four run, fully acknowleding we could lose to Northern Iowa as easily as Kansas could.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I don't believe that there is any disagreement that KU is on a higher tier than Marquette.  The question is whether or not a player like Murray might be drawn by being the guy that can take a Marquette into Final Four contention, vs. going to Kansas where they have a shot at the Final Four with or without him.  Yes, being a Final Four team is different than being good enough to be a Final Four team, but this year was unusually with no No. 1s or No. 2s in the tourney.  The goal if we landed Murray would be to be a No. 1 or No. 2 seed and have our best possible shot at a Final Four run, fully acknowleding we could lose to Northern Iowa as easily as Kansas could.

I think the same argument could be made about Tokoto and any number of others.  You can come and play for MU and make them better, or you can play at one of the flagship programs and have a legit chance to go to the Final Four.  I hope we're in that discussion again eventually, but today we are not.  Doesn't mean the kid doesn't choose MU, but there's a reason so many kids choose KU, UK, etc when these situations come up.  Too good to pass up.

[Golden Avalanche]

This is an aiming high recruitment. Would be massive to land Murray.

[Lennys Tap]

He won a national championship. He isn't going anywhere.

Of course he's not going anywhere. I was just pointing out how ridiculous it is to say that Kansas's expectations are a Final Four every year. If that were true Ol' Roy would have been canned before he left for UNC and Self would be long gone too. Nobody this side of John Wooden has (or can) meet those asinine expectations.

[Keeyan Half Court Dunks]

Will anyone be updating this list as players commit?

[marquette99]

A coupe of commits have been posted on the followup post further down, which was the top 50 on the wish list on cracked sidewalks.

#3 and #11 were the only 2 reported as committed elsewhere, but #2 henry was actually apparently ready to or had signed with new mexico.

[Lennys Tap]

CBS sports is reporting that Murray will likely choose between Kansas and WVU.

[4everwarriors]

Shoulda snagged Jeremy Lamb when we coulda.

[nyg]

CBS sports is reporting that Murray will likely choose between Kansas and WVU.

Isn't he visiting MU next week?  That would suck......

[77ncaachamps]

Updated...4/17/11

Reference: http://www.jucorecruiting.com/four-year-school-commitments

Ryan Aaron (Unlisted) Only a freshman, not sure if eligible to transfer
Derrell Armstrong (#57) Scoring point gets assists, but also turns it over alot
Charles Ashford (#44) Assist machine, can score, but doesn't seem to need to
Quinn Bivins (Unlisted) Couldn't find much on this kid
Xavier Johnson-Blount (#105)
Hauns Brereton (Unlisted) Being pursued by Hawaii as well as Utah schools HAWAI'I
Tyler Brown (#12) Two-time JUCO All-American ILLINOIS STATE
Monterale Clark (#19) I'm sure he won't end up here...
Spencer Coleman (Unlisted) Looks like a switchable, not sure we need that this year
Robert Crawford (Unlisted) Another switchable, seemingly
Jeff Early (#42) Combo guard, not sure he fits our need at the point
Jayson Guerrier (Unlisted) Very good at holding on to the ball, might be worth a look
Paris Gulley (Unlisted) Great shooter, but not a natural point
Michael Hale III (#104) Diminutive, but the numbers are great, can score, dish, and keep the ball
Deangelo Hailey (Unlisted) Another scoring guard
Lonnie Hayes (#67) A little turnover-prone, but otherwise looks good
Marsell Holden (#55) Takeover-type scorer, but at 5'11", not sure he runs the point well enough
Alfonzo Hubbard (#106) Good all-around player, but a bit of a 'tweener
Anthony Hubbard (Unlisted) After nearly 4 years in prison, trying to turn his life around
Pierre Jackson (#62) Best player on NJCAA champs, point guard version of Crowder? BAYLOR
Elliott Johnson (Unlisted) Freshman switchable, not sure if eligible yet
Jeremy Jones (Unlisted) Chicago product is the target of a number of high-majors Visited South Florida, KState; plans on visiting Houston, Arizona State; Turned down visits to Indiana and WVU
Philip Jurick (#8) Former 4-star Tennessee commit is a monster down low Visited Southern Miss, Miss State; interest from but hasn't yet scheduled for WVA, Central Florida
Reco Lewis (Unlisted) Can score, shoot, rebound, dish, and steal, worth a look
Cheikh Mbodji (#41) Senegalese power forward has interest from Cincy, Iowa, and Washington CINCY
Larry McGaughey (Unlisted) Scoring guard can also block shots, but doesn't dish
Hanif Nixon-Hughes (Unlisted) Point guard with good size, worth a look if eligible
Quinton Pippen (Unlisted) Not a coincidence, he's Scottie's nephew
Orlando Sanchez (Unlisted) The NJCAA leader in blocks
D'Angelo Scott (#99) Do-it-all switchable type
Taylor Smith (Unlisted) Rebounder and shot-blocker STEPHEN F AUSTIN
Tavares Speaks (Unlisted) Prolific scoring guard from Raleigh, NC...sounds familiar
Dylan Talley (#25) Do-it-all guard is being pursued by LSU, among others NEBRASKA
Corbin Thomas (Unlisted) Scoring, rebounding switchable
Corey Wilford (Unlisted) Small scoring guard

[ATL MU Warrior]

CBS sports is reporting that Murray will likely choose between Kansas and WVU.

What about this dude as a backup plan? All you recruiting gurus (and wanna be's) what do you know about this guy?  He just was released from NC State due to coaching change.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/103199/joseph-uchebo

[Lennys Tap]

What about this dude as a backup plan? All you recruiting gurus (and wanna be's) what do you know about this guy?  He just was released from NC State due to coaching change.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/103199/joseph-uchebo

Don't know if we're involved but he looks like a player.

[Silkk the Shaka]

What about this dude as a backup plan? All you recruiting gurus (and wanna be's) what do you know about this guy?  He just was released from NC State due to coaching change.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/103199/joseph-uchebo

I don't know a thing about him, but I would love it if he signed with MU.  A 7 footer ranked top 80 RSCI that falls into our lap in April is the kind of thing that needs to happen to make another deep run.  Butler, DJO and Crowder were spring signings the last three years - I'm really eager so see who the next great late addition is this year.

[MerrittsMustache]

What about this dude as a backup plan? All you recruiting gurus (and wanna be's) what do you know about this guy?  He just was released from NC State due to coaching change.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/103199/joseph-uchebo

There's another thread about this guy on here. From what I've heard, he may need to go to prep school for a year to get his grades in order.