Recruiting as of 3/15/24

[MuMark]

As stated in the other thread the focus should be on Osa Ighodaro!  He's the hidden gem that we can and should get. We have Symir Torrence already so getting another stud point guard in this class is a luxury but not a necessity.

Mark Miller just put in a prediction for OSA to MU.

Obviously no guarantees but Mark has a good track record when it comes to his MU predictions......including being the first guy on Lewis to MU.

[Pakuni]

Mark Miller just put in a prediction for OSA to MU.

Obviously no guarantees but Mark has a good track record when it comes to his MU predictions......including being the first guy on Lewis to MU.

<Insert obligatory Cristal Bowel gripe here>

[MuMark]

<Insert obligatory Cristal Bowel gripe here>

Yes God forbid we forget it's a marketing tool.........

[Lennys Tap]

All public schools with big campuses, most in warm weather climates except Michigan.  Kid might be looking for something else.  All kinds of reasons kids select schools.

Eugene, OR, Ann Arbor, MI, Louisville, KY, Lubbock, Tx and Tuscaloosa, Al weather have very little in common. Ann Arbor is cold, Eugene temperate (and wet), Louisville "meh", Lubbock desert like, etc. Lots of better options if weather matters.

[duanewade]

Mark Miller just put in a prediction for OSA to MU.

Obviously no guarantees but Mark has a good track record when it comes to his MU predictions......including being the first guy on Lewis to MU.

I hope he's right....I wrote the below on another thread....

I don't know why there isn't more hype about on the board about getting this kid. 

Osa is another player that screams huge upside.  Watching his video he looks like a very smooth, high IQ team concept player.  It doesn't appear he has any comfort shooting from the outside as he doesn't take any jump shots or even free throws in the attached video.  However he can handle and likes to face up big men trying to guard him and then uses his quickness to take them off the dribble.  In addition he is very clever around the basket using hook shots and tear drops with either hand.

He reminds me of an Ethan Happ / Dennis Rodman type of player as outside shooting touch is innate and very hard to learn for some players.  In addition with schools like Stanford and Vanderbilt in his final four and how professionally he answered the questions in the JS article makes me think he is a very smart/mature person/player.  In addition I like that there are no crystal ball predictions about where he is going as he keeps things close to the vest and doesn't seem to need/want a lot of flash bulbs.   

This is the problem with rating kids before even a senior year high school season is you have a small window of game playing to base ratings on.  Even the NFL draft which grades kids 5 years later after they've had a chance to enter their 20's and grow into men is full of busts in the 1st round.  So grading 16 and 17 year olds is even harder to determine who will blossom at the next level and who won't. 

I see a kid who is just growing into his super sized, long frame and once he does....Watch Out! 

Having players like Justin Lewis and Osa Ighodaro in your program that stay 3 to 4 years is how you make Final 4 runs. 

If I was Marquette I'd be living at this kids door trying to get him to commit.  I have a hunch we're his number one choice for some reason in that he added us to his Final 4 after being late to the game in his recruiting process.  In addition Stan's relationship with Arizona players and having Marcus Howard from Arizona helping sell him on the Arizona to Marquette pipeline doesn't hurt either.  Finally let's be real in that Stanford and Vanderbilt are nowhere close to Marquette in fan support, facilities and a home court arena.  However Texas does have a lot to sell so hopefully he comes home after that trip without committing and reevaluates and ultimately picks Marquette in early September.   

Get him and you have two studs that will indicate to some of the other higher rated players that Marquette is pursuing that we are putting together a special class that they can join and have a lot of success together. 

youtube.com/watch?v=x_xKiigK_F8&t=28s

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Really like his skill set in his videos also DW

[wadesworld]

The high school version of Ben Simmons. Just a better combination of size and athleticism to him. He’d be a nice get but he’d take some time to develop into a contributor in my opinion. I do like the up side a lot as he seems to have a natural feel. In fact in my opinion the thing that I think would translate best to the next level for him is his court vision at that size.

[Lennys Tap]

The high school version of Ben Simmons. Just a better combination of size and athleticism to him. He’d be a nice get but he’d take some time to develop into a contributor in my opinion. I do like the up side a lot as he seems to have a natural feel. In fact in my opinion the thing that I think would translate best to the next level for him is his court vision at that size.

Agree with your conclusions (nice get, take some time, etc.), but "the high school version of Ben Simmons"? Wasn't Simmons the #1 player in the country in high school? Wasn't he the #1 NBA pick a year after graduating from high school? I mean he's tall and has pretty good handles/court vision but Ben Simmons?

[Cheeks]

Eugene, OR, Ann Arbor, MI, Louisville, KY, Lubbock, Tx and Tuscaloosa, Al weather have very little in common. Ann Arbor is cold, Eugene temperate (and wet), Louisville "meh", Lubbock desert like, etc. Lots of better options if weather matters.

All of them better weather than Milwaukee

[Galway Eagle]

All of them better weather than Milwaukee

No way Ann Arbor is drastically better.

[Cheeks]

No way Ann Arbor is drastically better.

Where was the word drastically used? 

According NOAA Ann Arbor slightly warmer high and lows, less precipitation...Milwaukee has more clear days, however.

[wadesworld]

Agree with your conclusions (nice get, take some time, etc.), but "the high school version of Ben Simmons"? Wasn't Simmons the #1 player in the country in high school? Wasn't he the #1 NBA pick a year after graduating from high school? I mean he's tall and has pretty good handles/court vision but Ben Simmons?

Which is why he’s the high school version of the current Ben Simmons. Ben Simmons currently is a nice NBA player, but nothing more. Everything is 5 feet and in for him, his best attributes are being bigger and more athletic than most guys at his level, and for someone his size he has great court vision.

[Galway Eagle]

Where was the word drastically used? 

According NOAA Ann Arbor slightly warmer high and lows, less precipitation...Milwaukee has more clear days, however.

It wasn't but is your implication that he looked up those advanced weather stats on the slight difference in order to rank his interest because of weather?

I happen to like clear days, don't mind temperature. I guess Ann Arbor has worse weather.

[Cheeks]

It wasn't but is your implication that he looked up those advanced weather stats on the slight difference in order to rank his interest because of weather?

I happen to like clear days, don't mind temperature. I guess Ann Arbor has worse weather.

My guess is if he really liked cold weather to the point it mattered for him for his school choice, MU would be there.  As I stated, kids pick all kinds of reasons to attend a school...Faisal chose MU because we had cool practice shorts...straight from his dad’s mouth when we were in St Louis.   Be it girls, the coach, night life, campus size, football, Major, religious vs public, all kinds of reasons.  MU very different than his final five in my opinion...from weather to school size to public v private, football, etc. 

[Lennys Tap]

Which is why he’s the high school version of the current Ben Simmons. Ben Simmons currently is a nice NBA player, but nothing more. Everything is 5 feet and in for him, his best attributes are being bigger and more athletic than most guys at his level, and for someone his size he has great court vision.

The high school version of the current Ben Simmons was the best high school player in the country. Osa is nowhere near that. If he's the high school version of Ben Simmons by his junior year in college I'll be ecstatic. If by his senior year he's freshman year Ben Simmons, ditto.

[Lennys Tap]

It wasn't but is your implication that he looked up those advanced weather stats on the slight difference in order to rank his interest because of weather?

I happen to like clear days, don't mind temperature. I guess Ann Arbor has worse weather.

None of Eugene, Lubbock, Ann Arbor, Louisville or Tuscaloosa have great weather. If weather were important these wouldn't be his final 5. It's typical Chico - say something obviously wrong then defend the indefensible.

[wadesworld]

The high school version of the current Ben Simmons was the best high school player in the country. Osa is nowhere near that. If he's the high school version of Ben Simmons by his junior year in college I'll be ecstatic. If by his senior year he's freshman year Ben Simmons, ditto.

Ben Simmons is currently in the NBA...

[Cheeks]

None of Eugene, Lubbock, Ann Arbor, Louisville or Tuscaloosa have great weather. If weather were important these wouldn't be his final 5. It's typical Chico - say something obviously wrong then defend the indefensible.

Not a thing I said was factually wrong. Not a single thing. Not indefensible....facts make it easy to defend.

[Galway Eagle]

Not a thing I said was factually wrong. Not a single thing. Not indefensible....facts make it easy to defend.

"All of them better weather than Milwaukee"

Subjective statement so it can't be a fact.

[Cheeks]

"All of them better weather than Milwaukee"

Subjective statement so it can't be a fact.

He was referencing this quote, none of which is factually wrong

“All public schools with big campuses, most in warm weather climates except Michigan.  Kid might be looking for something else.  All kinds of reasons kids select schools.”


That’s when he started.....

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

He was referencing this quote, none of which is factually wrong

“All public schools with big campuses, most in warm weather climates except Michigan.  Kid might be looking for something else.  All kinds of reasons kids select schools.”


That’s when he started.....

Chicos when will u ever learn that u sound like a complete idiot.  That is what they are telling you and that arguing against it makes u sound even more like one... smh

[jsglow]

We are NOT going to discuss the merits of weather on the recruiting thread.

[Earl Tatum]

F the weather

[Cheeks]

Kids pick schools for all kinds of reasons.  This is why weather was chosen as an advantage by folks in this thread for years for schools like UCLA, Arizona, etc.  Herman was excited to point out just two weeks ago the MKE weather was going to be nice with a recruit on campus.  Of course it is one of the factors, the person has to live in it every day.  Personally, I loved MKE weather....others hated it.  Personal choice.

I love kids that choose MU for whatever reason they choose.  If weather is one of them, great.  If weather is a reason not to choose, that’s fine, too.

[BCHoopster]

I see that Oso is more like a skinny power forward right now, so in saying that right now, is MU recruiting a physical big anywhere that can back
up Theo next year or they just going to wait to spring and find a grad transfer?  I know MU is recruiting a lot of players but have not seen a center
type they are involved with?  Is Dawson a power forward type or can he play center?