Recruiting as of 3/15/24

[MomofMUltiples]

Your love affair of Zaire is getting weird.

Ehh, not so much. Zaire actually has a passing connection to MU through his dad. Weirder is his love affair with Jeenathan Williams, all things Antetokuompo and himself..

[Herman Cain]

Ehh, not so much. Zaire actually has a passing connection to MU through his dad. Weirder is his love affair with Jeenathan Williams, all things Antetokuompo and himself..

Read the Sports Illustrated article....MU has an interest in Zaire.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Mea culpa. He has 2 D1 offers, UWGB and DePaul. Wonder what's up with that?

Has he decommitted from DePaul yet?  That's when we know it's "official".

[Tums Festival]

247Sports has updated their 2019 Top Basketball Recruits rankings. Nico Mannion is ninth.

https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Basketball/RecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=HighSchool

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

247Sports has updated their 2019 Top Basketball Recruits rankings. Nico Mannion is ninth.

https://247sports.com/Season/2019-Basketball/RecruitRankings/?InstitutionGroup=HighSchool

Some others:

#33 Rocket Watts (+5)
#153 James Bishop (+32)
#163 Seth Lundy (+14)
UR Dexter Akanno

[MuMark]

Excellent MU focused interview with Mannion by John Steppe

https://marquettewire.org/3993761/sports/recruiting-q-and-a-five-star-point-guard-nico-mannion-discusses-his-recruitment-interest-in-marquette/

[Milkshakes]

I don’t closely follow recruiting but it seems our list is thin?  A legitimate question here not a slam on Wojo or complaining.  Personally, I like the job Wojo is doing rebuilding and am more patient than most here.

It seems unlikely we get Nico when you look at his short list.  Bishop seems interested in just about every school in the country. I know some of our guys have played with him or know him but we don’t crack his top 5. 

After that we drop all the way to the 153rd and 163rd ranked guys. 

I am a bit surprised that we are not on more guys in the top 150.

Also suprised no big men on the list.  It seems to me we need a big man in this class so he has time to grow and learn and be ready for his soph/junior year assuming we need to rely on projects in the center.

[Nukem2]

I don’t closely follow recruiting but it seems our list is thin?  A legitimate question here not a slam on Wojo or complaining.  Personally, I like the job Wojo is doing rebuilding and am more patient than most here.

It seems unlikely we get Nico when you look at his short list.  Bishop seems interested in just about every school in the country. I know some of our guys have played with him or know him but we don’t crack his top 5. 

After that we drop all the way to the 153rd and 163rd ranked guys. 

I am a bit surprised that we are not on more guys in the top 150.

Also suprised no big men on the list.  It seems to me we need a big man in this class so he has time to grow and learn and be ready for his soph/junior year assuming we need to rely on projects in the center.

The roster is rather full and experienced going into 19-20 season, so it’s hard to convince guys as to PT.  As for bigs, do have Theo, Ed and Joey going in to 19-20 so a big is not a real priority.

[Cooby Snacks]

I don’t closely follow recruiting but it seems our list is thin?  A legitimate question here not a slam on Wojo or complaining.  Personally, I like the job Wojo is doing rebuilding and am more patient than most here.

It seems unlikely we get Nico when you look at his short list.  Bishop seems interested in just about every school in the country. I know some of our guys have played with him or know him but we don’t crack his top 5. 

After that we drop all the way to the 153rd and 163rd ranked guys. 

I am a bit surprised that we are not on more guys in the top 150.

Also suprised no big men on the list.  It seems to me we need a big man in this class so he has time to grow and learn and be ready for his soph/junior year assuming we need to rely on projects in the center.

The tough thing this cycle is that everyone minus Heldt is slated to return for the 19-20 season, plus McEwen joins after his year in residence. So with initial playing time hard to come by, the staff has either been taking some big cuts at elite-level guys who could plug in immediately or looking at guys who could maybe take a year or two to develop.

I agree that it would be nice to add a big, and I’m not sure what’s happening there. Keep in mind there’s always the transfer market where this staff has done really well so far.

[Its DJOver]

The tough thing this cycle is that everyone minus Heldt is slated to return for the 19-20 season, plus McEwen joins after his year in residence. So with initial playing time hard to come by, the staff has either been taking some big cuts at elite-level guys who could plug in immediately or looking at guys who could maybe take a year or two to develop.

I agree that it would be nice to add a big, and I’m not sure what’s happening there. Keep in mind there’s always the transfer market where this staff has done really well so far.

I think you answered your own question.  Once Matt leaves, we'll still have Ed, Sam, Theo, Ike, Brendan, and Joey as front court players.  This years freshman are literally all front court players.  Once Joe leaves, we'll only have one PG in Koby, so swinging for the fences on some blue chip point guards isn't a bad move.  Closing the door on any of them would be huge.  Unfortunately we're only on the short list for two of them.

[MuMark]

Theo, Eke, Ed and Joey can handle things for 2019-2020.......they can also look at Grad transfers if needed.

They will certainly add a big or 2 in 2020 either by transfer or traditional 4 year recruits if they don't add one this cycle.

[wadesworld]

Come on Nico.

[MomofMUltiples]

I'm not yet convinced that our chances with Nico are slim.  There were a couple telling things in the article, as well as past statements, that lead me to think he is more interested in Marquette than some think.  Or it could just be journalistic bias, since the interviewer was Marquette - focused.

1.  When he talked about his four options, his Marquette positives were fairly unique - Relationship with coaches, relationship with teammates, style of play, role he is being offered.  The other three essentially boiled down to prestige, tradition, good program, and close to home (AZ), where notably he says that Archie Sean wants to play a more uptempo game, not that he does already.

2.  It's pretty clear he considers himself to be a one-and-done (Did you catch the "That's the year I'll be there" comment?) and he's looked strategically at what the MU team will be and how he could be the missing piece.  He can't do that with Duke (because all of the current team will turn over this year), AZ (because Miller's recruiting is down) and didn't for Villanova.  Again, this may have been interviewer bias, but I also recall in an earlier article about him he said he may not want to be at a blueblood, because he wanted to establish himself as a difference maker.  Where better to do that then on a veteran team with tons of offense?

Of course, we can't always reason how 18 year olds think - maybe he wants to play on an all-star team, or be close to home so his parents can watch him play, or lead to the resurgence of a team that is currently on the decline.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I don’t closely follow recruiting but it seems our list is thin?  A legitimate question here not a slam on Wojo or complaining.  Personally, I like the job Wojo is doing rebuilding and am more patient than most here.

Not really. By this time most non-blue blooded schools are down to only a few legitimate targets. This time last year we we're down to Quentin Grimes or nobody. It just feels thin because we haven't landed our first recruit yet. I'll admit I'm a bit antsy, mostly because we haven't had a high schooler commit since Joey over a year ago.

It seems unlikely we get Nico when you look at his short list.

Nico will be a tough battle for sure, though anytime a final list contains one school that is different from all the others, you have to wonder what makes that school special. I'm not expecting us to land him but I think we have a shot.

Bishop seems interested in just about every school in the country. I know some of our guys have played with him or know him but we don’t crack his top 5. 

By Bishop, I assume you mean Watts. Watts has already cut his list down to 9 and we are on it. I'm not holding my breath either.

After that we drop all the way to the 153rd and 163rd ranked guys. 

I am a bit surprised that we are not on more guys in the top 150.

Its unfortunate but not surprising. We have a full roster coming back next season. Any player not ranked in the top 50 would likely have to wait at least a year for significant playing time and some may have to wait years to become a starter. My hope was that we could land a 5-star player to push that roster over the top. Nico is our last hope for that. Any player we take on at this point is going to be a project so I'm fine taking a flyer on a lower ranked guy. The three we are in on all seem like they have a lot of potential and have some good programs after them. Usually a good indicator of possible gems.

Also suprised no big men on the list.  It seems to me we need a big man in this class so he has time to grow and learn and be ready for his soph/junior year assuming we need to rely on projects in the center.

I don't think we need a big man this class. But next season it should become more of a priority. Keep in mind that aircraft carrier type centers are no longer in vogue. I wouldn't be surprised to see Joey hold down the starting 5 spot for the next four years at 6'9 230 lb.

[wadesworld]

I'm not yet convinced that our chances with Nico are slim.  There were a couple telling things in the article, as well as past statements, that lead me to think he is more interested in Marquette than some think.  Or it could just be journalistic bias, since the interviewer was Marquette - focused.

1.  When he talked about his four options, his Marquette positives were fairly unique - Relationship with coaches, relationship with teammates, style of play, role he is being offered.  The other three essentially boiled down to prestige, tradition, good program, and close to home (AZ), where notably he says that Archie wants to play a more uptempo game, not that he does already.

2.  It's pretty clear he considers himself to be a one-and-done (Did you catch the "That's the year I'll be there" comment?) and he's looked strategically at what the MU team will be and how he could be the missing piece.  He can't do that with Duke (because all of the current team will turn over this year), AZ (because Miller's recruiting is down) and didn't for Villanova.  Again, this may have been interviewer bias, but I also recall in an earlier article about him he said he may not want to be at a blueblood, because he wanted to establish himself as a difference maker.  Where better to do that then on a veteran team with tons of offense?

Of course, we can't always reason how 18 year olds think - maybe he wants to play on an all-star team, or be close to home so his parents can watch him play, or lead to the resurgence of a team that is currently on the decline.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

I think we have a better chance on Nico than we had on Grimes, but I still don't think we ultimately land him, if for no other reason than the 3 programs in the running with us are without question of higher prestige right now so I'd never really like my chances when that's the list.

Nitpicking but Archie is not at Arizona, Sean is.  And yeah, I think Nico probably had a bit better/more in depth things to say because he knew the reporter was writing for Marquette.

[wadesworld]

Not really. By this time most non-blue blooded schools are down to only a few legitimate targets. This time last year we we're down to Quentin Grimes or nobody. It just feels thin because we haven't landed our first recruit yet. I'll admit I'm a bit antsy, mostly because we haven't had a high schooler commit since Joey over a year ago.

Nico will be a tough battle for sure, though anytime a final list contains one school that is different from all the others, you have to wonder what makes that school special. I'm not expecting us to land him but I think we have a shot.

By Bishop, I assume you mean Watts. Watts has already cut his list down to 9 and we are on it. I'm not holding my breath either.

Its unfortunate but not surprising. We have a full roster coming back next season. Any player not ranked in the top 50 would likely have to wait at least a year for significant playing time and some may have to wait years to become a starter. My hope was that we could land a 5-star player to push that roster over the top. Nico is our last hope for that. Any player we take on at this point is going to be a project so I'm fine taking a flyer on a lower ranked guy. The three we are in on all seem like they have a lot of potential and have some good programs after them. Usually a good indicator of possible gems.

I don't think we need a big man this class. But next season it should become more of a priority. Keep in mind that aircraft carrier type centers are no longer in vogue. I wouldn't be surprised to see Joey hold down the starting 5 spot for the next four years at 6'9 230 lb.

I'm not sure we get Joey for 4 years.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I'm not sure we get Joey for 4 years.

That would be great because if he's that good I'm expecting some deep runs. I need to see him play at the college level before I'm ready to say that he's leaving early.

[LoudMouth]

I think we have a better chance on Nico than we had on Grimes, but I still don't think we ultimately land him, if for no other reason than the 3 programs in the running with us are without question of higher prestige right now so I'd never really like my chances when that's the list.

Nitpicking but Archie is not at Arizona, Sean is.  And yeah, I think Nico probably had a bit better/more in depth things to say because he knew the reporter was writing for Marquette.

Agree with you here, and for some reason I am not too afraid of Zona. (Please don't make me eat my words Nico) It seems like the only thing they have going for them is hometown. Other than that they cheat, gets "super extreme DUI's" https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/pac12/2018/08/21/arizona-basketball-player-charged-super-extreme-dui/1058283002/, don't focus on PGs and can't beat Buffalo in the first round. They are in store for an off year this year IMO, plus the pac-12 is for bums. To me they are the Texas for QG last year.

And obviously Nova is wanting to have some competition in the BEast and Coach K is feeling sentimental so they will just push Nico towards MU  #DoneDeal

[MUMonster03]

If Nico only plans on being someplace for 1 year does that make how we start the season even more important? If we lose a close game in the NIT he could see himself as the missing piece, but if we get blown out then it may sway him the other way in thinking that we need more then just him. However if we win it could make him think just how good we could be next year with him on the team.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

If Nico only plans on being someplace for 1 year does that make how we start the season even more important? If we lose a close game in the NIT he could see himself as the missing piece, but if we get blown out then it may sway him the other way in thinking that we need more then just him. However if we win it could make him think just how good we could be next year with him on the team.

Does winning matter?  Id venture to guess that Duke n nova are not on the list if not for their history of winning. MU is on the list for two reasons, realitionships and winning potential, as being sold to him, so i think u have answered your own question. 
Wojo has done a good job of getting us considered by top recruits , but signing them, if not local, is gonna require winning.
Some posters want to keep referencing roster when explaining recruiting difficulty, i will stick with lack of winning.

[Galway Eagle]

Does winning matter?  Id venture to guess that Duke n nova are not on the list if not for their history of winning. MU is on the list for two reasons, realitionships and winning potential, as being sold to him, so i think u have answered your own question. 
Wojo has done a good job of getting us considered by top recruits , but signing them, if not local, is gonna require winning.
Some posters want to keep referencing roster when explaining recruiting difficulty, i will stick with lack of winning.

I think winning is the result of the coaching which is the underlying reason they're considered. Especially Nova and Duke as opposed to say AZ.

[MU82]

NM ... moved to separate thread.

[bilsu]

Does winning matter?  Id venture to guess that Duke n nova are not on the list if not for their history of winning. MU is on the list for two reasons, realitionships and winning potential, as being sold to him, so i think u have answered your own question. 
Wojo has done a good job of getting us considered by top recruits , but signing them, if not local, is gonna require winning.
Some posters want to keep referencing roster when explaining recruiting difficulty, i will stick with lack of winning.

Winning definitely matters. I guarantee you every high school player dreams of starring in an NCAA tournament game. An elite player is not likely to pick a school that does not have a chance to play multiple games in the NCAA tournament. I believe we have more than a 25% chance to get Nico, because he would be coming to a team that on paper should be experience and good enough to win multiple NCAA tournament games. It also is the team that he most likely going to be the star on. To me it seems like perfect timing for MU.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

That would be great because if he's that good I'm expecting some deep runs. I need to see him play at the college level before I'm ready to say that he's leaving early.

Let's just stick with trying to keep the kid on the floor for a full season.  It's been a few years since he's done that..

[Herman Cain]

https://www.vuhoops.com/2018/8/25/17781272/villanova-basketball-recruiting-2019-nico-mannion-home-visits