Recruiting as of 4/15/25

[The Sultan]

Really hope he turns his back on the blue bloods. Go play for your dad young man (since it doesn't appear MU has much chance).

On the one hand, playing for your dad would be cool.

On the other....it's UWM.

I'd go elsewhere.  Dad would understand.

[Golden Avalanche]

On the one hand, playing for your dad would be cool.

On the other....it's UWM.

I'd go elsewhere.  Dad would understand.

Reminds me of Ray McCallum. Elite prospect out of high school who went to play for his dad at Detroit. Had a pretty good college career. Played in an NCAA game. Cup of coffee in the NBA. And has been playing overseas the last four to five years.

Who knows what the path would have been had he chosen a high major program?

[The Sultan]

Yeah I don't think he would have any different trajectory out of college had he gone to Duke instead.  But he would have had the chance to play in front of big, ACC crowds and in really meaningful games.

Instead he played for Detroit.

[Elonsmusk]

Go to the tweet reply by LRT Sports and note Wojo's high ratings. Given the Scoop meat memes, some of dis chit is pretty funny. Note how Wojo, after 4 years is more "HONEST" now but slightly less "COOL" and also slightly less "MOTIVATIONAL".

Is Joey an intern at LRT? 😂

Nice find.  2 votes for Wojo.  One from 4 years ago and one from last year.  Clocking in at a solid 4.7/5

https://www.lrt-sports.com/coaches/25528

[Norm]

Apologies if already posted, but Wojo offered 2021 PG Jordan Hawkins from DeMatha High School.

https://twitter.com/DeMathaHoops/status/1246544495396749313

[brewcity77]

Marquette offered top-100 2021 SG Luke Goode from Indiana. Long list for him.

https://twitter.com/luke_goode21/status/1247289154330931203?s=21

[Lennys Tap]

Umm no he wasnt
Saunders was charged with felonies if i recall.

You recall incorrectly. Crean claimed the university denied him acceptance due to grades even though he was fully qualified. Actually it was because DJ decided to return to school which left us over signed. So he was Creaned.

[🏀]

You recall incorrectly. Crean claimed the university denied him acceptance due to grades even though he was fully qualified. Actually it was because DJ decided to return to school which left us over signed. So he was Creaned.

There was also a HUGE question if Mbakwe would qualify, but yes, Crean overbooked.

Should've Creaned Hazel over Saunders though, kid was good in the A-10.

[Lennys Tap]

There was also a HUGE question if Mbakwe would qualify, but yes, Crean overbooked.

Should've Creaned Hazel over Saunders though, kid was good in the A-10.

True

And

True

[🏀]

True

And

True

That class... Mbakwe, Saunders, Hazel and Christopherson. That's four years played out of 16 possible.

[BallBoy]

There was also a HUGE question if Mbakwe would qualify, but yes, Crean overbooked.

Should've Creaned Hazel over Saunders though, kid was good in the A-10.

Crean overbooked. He should have kept Saunders but Saunders was coming off an arrest for a drug possession. MU denied him admission prior to the NCAA fully clearing him which gave the cover story.

Pulled from Todd's article on JsOnline
"Unfortunately, Damian won't be able to be accepted at Marquette," said Crean. "His final grades and test scores were not at a level that was deemed appropriate for Marquette University. He's not through the (NCAA) Clearinghouse at this point. But this was more of a Marquette situation because of where he grades were at.
"He's an excellent young man who I think has worked very hard, and I think he's going to have a very strong future in college basketball. Unfortunately it's not going to be with us."
Saunders, who played last season at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass., had been on shaky ground with MU since late June after he was arrested in his hometown for possession of a controlled substance.
"It really didn't," Crean said when asked if Saunders' arrest played any role in his not being admitted to MU. "I was unhappy with it, and I was probably even more unhappy because we were blindsided by it.
"I never really felt, after hearing the different facts in the story, that he really did anything that wrong, except choose to be with the wrong people at the wrong place at the wrong time. To my knowledge, it's already been taken care of. This was totally an academic issue."

Saunders went on to play 111 games in the GLeague which I am told makes him elite.

[swoopem]

I don't even remember this Saunders guy or his recruitment and he would've been a year below me at MU.

At the time, which colleges did he choose MU over? Was he a top 100 player?

[The Sultan]

That class... Mbakwe, Saunders, Hazel and Christopherson. That's four years played out of 16 possible.

Too bad Christopherson was Buzz cut. That dude could shoot.

[🏀]

Too bad Christopherson was Buzz cut. That dude could shoot.

Yep, and he loved Marquette. No room on Brent's team though.

[Elonsmusk]

Too bad Christopherson was Buzz cut. That dude could shoot.

Yep, and he loved Marquette. No room on Brent's team though.

Christopherson could hardly dribble effectively at the high major level with his left hand as a freshman at MU.

Goes to show how much a kid can improve over time.  Went on to be a good player at Iowa State.  Worked out just fine for both parties.  Hard to argue with Buzz's success at MU.

[🏀]

I don't even remember this Saunders guy or his recruitment and he would've been a year below me at MU.

At the time, which colleges did he choose MU over? Was he a top 100 player?

Providence was the only major. Sanders and Hazel were top 300 guys.

[The Sultan]

Christopherson could hardly dribble effectively at the high major level with his left hand as a freshman at MU.

Goes to show how much a kid can improve over time.  Went on to be a good player at Iowa State.  Worked out just fine for both parties.  Hard to argue with Buzz's success at MU.

It didn't turn out well for Marquette.  He would have been a senior on the 2010-11 team that definitely needed a shooter rather than a waste of a scholarship like Reggie Smith.

Not blaming Buzz because this stuff happens, but Christopherson would have been a net positive.

[BallBoy]

I don't even remember this Saunders guy or his recruitment and he would've been a year below me at MU.

At the time, which colleges did he choose MU over? Was he a top 100 player?

No. He was a recruited to be a backup and hopefully develop. After being creaned he landed at Duquesne where he had a decent career. I just remember that people's perception of him was greater than reality because Trevor was ok, injured his only year at Marquette and ended up transferring.

[WarriorPride68]

The one that always bothered me was how poorly the DJ Newbill situation was handled. Cut at the last second & strung along: https://www.inquirer.com/philly/hp/sports/20100701_Newbill_cut_loose_by_Marquette.html

Newbill went on to be an absolute beast. That late in game he jumped on Southern Miss offer and made all freshman team in Conference USA
FR: 9 & 6
Then transferred closer to home Penn State:
Soph: 16, 5 & 4
JR: 18, 5 & 2
SR: 21, 5 & 3

Conference USA All-Freshman Team (2011)
Honorable mention All-Big Ten (2013)
2× Second-team All-Big Ten (2014, 2015)

[JakeBarnes]

The one that always bothered me was how poorly the DJ Newbill situation was handled. Cut at the last second & strung along: https://www.inquirer.com/philly/hp/sports/20100701_Newbill_cut_loose_by_Marquette.html

Newbill went on to be an absolute beast. That late in game he jumped on Southern Miss offer and made all freshman team in Conference USA
FR: 9 & 6
Then transferred closer to home Penn State:
Soph: 16, 5 & 4
JR: 18, 5 & 2
SR: 21, 5 & 3

Conference USA All-Freshman Team (2011)
Honorable mention All-Big Ten (2013)
2× Second-team All-Big Ten (2014, 2015)

I once ran into a Newbill family member. They agree with the highlighted part.

[jesmu84]

I once ran into a Newbill family member. They agree with the highlighted part.

I think there were multiple on this board

[JakeBarnes]

I think there were multiple on this board

I vaguely remember that as well. It was a really ugly situation. I recall being particularly pissed about it because I thought DJ was going to be one of those "outwork everyone" kids. Seems he was.

[Golden Avalanche]

I vaguely remember that as well. It was a really ugly situation. I recall being particularly pissed about it because I thought DJ was going to be one of those "outwork everyone" kids. Seems he was.

Remember those Newbill days well. One Scooper in particular was consistently unhinged in wrapping his head around his beloved coach being so ruthless in messing with a teenager's "happy".

Seemed odd then (and still does now) that someone like Buzz, who has been credited with being great at finding diamonds in the rough, was so far off the mark with Newbill.

[The Sultan]

Remember those Newbill days well. One Scooper in particular was consistently unhinged in wrapping his head around his beloved coach being so ruthless in messing with a teenager's "happy".

Seemed odd then (and still does now) that someone like Buzz, who has been credited with being great at finding diamonds in the rough, was so far off the mark with Newbill.

Buzz was off with a lot of guys.  Especially from high school.  His biggest recruiting misses were usually overly athletic players who peaked early.  Smith, Jones, Ferguson, etc.

Since Newbill was a spring signing and wasn't officially enrolled at MU, that gave Buzz plausible deniability when they had to make room for the Jamil transfer.  But to think that Reggie Smith was in that same class...smh.

[🏀]

Character revealed.