Recruiting as of 4/15/25

[wadesworld]

https://x.com/PanthersHoops/status/1875002675559105005?t=3-w1kvFjYji5Hnittflw2A&s=19

A deflection and an EGB

Give him the Ant Man Award already.

[duanewade]

Ethan Johnston has scary good athletic highlights as well. 

Once again, I love Shaka's recruiting philosophy of identifying and targeting long, very athletic players who are just beginning to touch the surface of their long-term potential. 

Imagine a future roster with Owens, Lowery, Phillips, Stevens, Miletic, Karvala and Johnston manning the switchable 2/3/4 positions.  Tons of length to create deflections on defense and loads of athletic ability to finish in transition as well. All of them also have legitimate range out to 3 as well.
 
Combine that with uber quick point guards in Jones/James and a running 5 in Joshua Clark.  As much success as this group has had I think our near future rosters have the potential to be even better.  Hopefully they stay together and work as hard as this most recent group has.  If they do multiple Final 4's are not out of the question. 

https://www.instagram.com/realscoutbasketball/reel/C_boUkPyvPl/

[tower912]

I agree that future rosters, if Shaka can hold on to everyone, will be at least as exciting as what we have already seen.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Wanted to touch on the recruiting implications of Sean's redshirt decision.

1) Three spots available for 2026: Chase, Ben, Open/15th spot

2) Three spots available for 2027: Sean, Tre, Zaide

Subject to change, but that's the current lay of the land.

[Pakuni]

Marquette: "They've been the most consistent. Coach (Shaka) Smart is definitely a great guy. Every time I speak with him, we have a great conversation. A deep conversation. He's developed a great relationship with my family The whole program, they are just different. The way they recruit is different. They actually saw me first. Coach (DeAndre) Haynes, he was actually the first one I spoke with on staff. They sent each assistant out and came to my open gyms. I think my style of play fits their system because I'm a transition-centric type of player. I'm really looking forward to my (official visit) coming up, on Feb.24-26th.

https://www.zagsblog.com/2025/01/06/class-of-2026-guard-ethan-johnson-updates-recruitment-with-marquette-villanova-illinois-and-georgetown-involved/

[K1 Lover]

Marquette: "They've been the most consistent. Coach (Shaka) Smart is definitely a great guy. Every time I speak with him, we have a great conversation. A deep conversation. He's developed a great relationship with my family The whole program, they are just different. The way they recruit is different. They actually saw me first. Coach (DeAndre) Haynes, he was actually the first one I spoke with on staff. They sent each assistant out and came to my open gyms. I think my style of play fits their system because I'm a transition-centric type of player. I'm really looking forward to my (official visit) coming up, on Feb.24-26th.

https://www.zagsblog.com/2025/01/06/class-of-2026-guard-ethan-johnson-updates-recruitment-with-marquette-villanova-illinois-and-georgetown-involved/

If I didn't know any better, I'd say it sounds like he's ready to commit. There's obviously still plenty of time for things to change but he and Karvala seem like recruiting locks to me as of right now. And I highly doubt they'll be the only two who get hooked on MU; there are at least six others who could potentially see MU as a top choice in the end as well.

I'm not familiar with how the recruiting process goes exactly. Does anyone know what happens if there are multiple recruiting candidates wanting to act on their offer and commit, but not enough space on the team?

[We R Final Four]

If I didn't know any better, I'd say it sounds like he's ready to commit. There's obviously still plenty of time for things to change but he and Karvala seem like recruiting locks to me as of right now. And I highly doubt they'll be the only two who get hooked on MU; there are at least six others who could potentially see MU as a top choice in the end as well.

I'm not familiar with how the recruiting process goes exactly. Does anyone know what happens if there are multiple recruiting candidates wanting to act on their offer and commit, but not enough space on the team?

So, I'm looking forward to getting down there for my official visit and really looking forward to meeting coach (Ed) Cooley. I'm definitely going to get up there soon.


This is what he said further along in the article about Georgetown.

[Shaka Shart]

So, I'm looking forward to getting down there for my official visit and really looking forward to meeting coach (Ed) Cooley. I'm definitely going to get up there soon.


This is what he said further along in the article about Georgetown.

Someone should tell him that it's "Mr. Cooley"

[MuMark]

If I didn't know any better, I'd say it sounds like he's ready to commit. There's obviously still plenty of time for things to change but he and Karvala seem like recruiting locks to me as of right now. And I highly doubt they'll be the only two who get hooked on MU; there are at least six others who could potentially see MU as a top choice in the end as well.

I'm not familiar with how the recruiting process goes exactly. Does anyone know what happens if there are multiple recruiting candidates wanting to act on their offer and commit, but not enough space on the team?

I don't think anyone is a lock........rumor is Syracuse is pushing hard for Karvala ($) and he has visited there.

[Herman Cain]

Marquette: "They've been the most consistent. Coach (Shaka) Smart is definitely a great guy. Every time I speak with him, we have a great conversation. A deep conversation. He's developed a great relationship with my family The whole program, they are just different. The way they recruit is different. They actually saw me first. Coach (DeAndre) Haynes, he was actually the first one I spoke with on staff. They sent each assistant out and came to my open gyms. I think my style of play fits their system because I'm a transition-centric type of player. I'm really looking forward to my (official visit) coming up, on Feb.24-26th.

https://www.zagsblog.com/2025/01/06/class-of-2026-guard-ethan-johnson-updates-recruitment-with-marquette-villanova-illinois-and-georgetown-involved/

Another Excellent prospect with size.

[wadesworld]

I don't think anyone is a lock........rumor is Syracuse is pushing hard for Karvala ($) and he has visited there.

Yeah we're months away from commitments. Lot of game left.

[MuMark]

"I'm not familiar with how the recruiting process goes exactly. Does anyone know what happens if there are multiple recruiting candidates wanting to act on their offer and commit, but not enough space on the team"

There is always a priority pecking order......only the staff knows for sure what that is but you can usually tell who the real top targets are by the activity of the staff.

Not all offers are created equal........some they will accept a commitment at anytime......others they won't.

[K1 Lover]

I don't think anyone is a lock........rumor is Syracuse is pushing hard for Karvala ($) and he has visited there.

Hence why I only said they seem like locks to me, while also acknowledging there's still plenty of time for things to change. Nothing is guaranteed, but it's my purely my personal opinion that they're more likely MU recruits than not.

Regarding Karvala, I'm aware of the Syracuse effort. Who knows, maybe they'll get him. But between his multiple MU visits, the direct attention given to him by Shaka, and Karvala's description of what he's looking for, I will be very surprised (and disappointed) if this staff fails to nab a kid from Shaka's own alma mater. We're not Seton Hall; I'd like to imagine that we have the NIL resources and recent success to be a destination that's just as - if not more than - appealing as Syracuse.

[tower912]

I would point out that sometimes it is about playing time.  If Karvala came to MU, assuming status quo, who would already be at MU that played the same position?
   Don't get me wrong.  I see the videos and appreciate the symmetry.  And I want as many talented players at MU as possible.  But if another high major offers more money and playing time up front, well....

[K1 Lover]

I would point out that sometimes it is about playing time.  If Karvala came to MU, assuming status quo, who would already be at MU that played the same position?
   Don't get me wrong.  I see the videos and appreciate the symmetry.  And I want as many talented players at MU as possible.  But if another high major offers more money and playing time up front, well....

Yeah that's a good point. Hopefully the kid values winning (and friendship) over playing time. But then again, seeing how he plays now, there's no reason to think he doesn't have the potential to eventually get the playing time Kam does now.

[tower912]

Yeah that's a good point. Hopefully the kid prefers winning over playing time. But then again, seeing how he plays now, there's no reason to think he doesn't have the potential to eventually get the playing time Kam does now.

Agreed. Will he be willing to take a couple of seasons to get there?  The existential question.

[Herman Cain]

I would point out that sometimes it is about playing time.  If Karvala came to MU, assuming status quo, who would already be at MU that played the same position?
   Don't get me wrong.  I see the videos and appreciate the symmetry.  And I want as many talented players at MU as possible.  But if another high major offers more money and playing time up front, well....

There is plenty of room at The Inn.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

MuMark referred to coaches having a pecking order, but they're constantly evaluating and re-evaluating prospects.

Last year, Nigel James and Nyk Lewis were both recruited hard as PGs. For whatever reason, James was the commitment Shaka secured.

I don't think Ian Miletic was on our Scoop radar until his January 15 visit vs Villanova.

Michael Phillips reclassified and committed out of nowhere this summer. Our only lead was one tweet about Shaka watching him, but even then Phillips was referred to as a 2026 prospect.

And TAMU was predicting Adrien Stevens would be our first commitment but he ended up being our fourth and final.

This year, we know JJ Andrews is visiting for NMD. He's also our highest ranked target. Safe to assume he's high on the priority list.

Sheek Pearson might be another. He visited once unofficially and is taking an official visit Jan 18 for the Xavier game. Shaka watched him in December and MU isn't linked to many other big men.

Other than that, it's really hard to tell. Ethan Johnston, Vaughn Karvala, and others are on the list but I couldn't tell you the staff's preference.

[Hards Alumni]

If I didn't know any better, I'd say it sounds like he's ready to commit. There's obviously still plenty of time for things to change but he and Karvala seem like recruiting locks to me as of right now. And I highly doubt they'll be the only two who get hooked on MU; there are at least six others who could potentially see MU as a top choice in the end as well.

I'm not familiar with how the recruiting process goes exactly. Does anyone know what happens if there are multiple recruiting candidates wanting to act on their offer and commit, but not enough space on the team?

[GoldenEagles03]

Alexander making sure to correct Recruits Zone

https://x.com/Alexegbuonu22/status/1877099113008832846?t=tcsIfpT7P7T2BOWSDGUe2Q&s=19

[WolfganghisKhan]

We got any big boys in the pipeline? Top 100-150 big boys?

[GoldenEagles03]

We got any big boys in the pipeline? Top 100-150 big boys?

7'0" Josh Clark
6'10" Ben Gold
6'9" Caedin Hamilton
6'9" Al Amadou
6'8" Royce Parham
6'8" Damarius Owens

Seems like they are comfortable with that group for the next few years. The whole class next year is guards/wings and a lot of the same being recruited for 2026.

[K1 Lover]

Are you confusing me with someone else? Help me understand this, because I never left. Haha

[MuMark]

7'0" Josh Clark
6'10" Ben Gold
6'9" Caedin Hamilton
6'9" Al Amadou
6'8" Royce Parham
6'8" Damarius Owens

Seems like they are comfortable with that group for the next few years. The whole class next year is guards/wings and a lot of the same being recruited for 2026.

Sheek Pearson is being recruited in 26

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Sheek Pearson is being recruited in 26

He's visiting Jan 18 for Xavier (official visit).

Summer team is Brad Beal Elite. Same team as JJ Andrews.  They won the 16-U Peach Jam last summer.