Mark Miller predicts...

[MU_Beav]

Markus Howard to MU on 24/7 - just made the call today...1/17/16

Visiting in February. May reclassify to 2016.

[tower912]

Always take a highly ranked PG, but.....    awfully small and a huge logjam in the backcourt.   If he comes, I wonder who leaves.

[WarriorPride68]

Always take a highly ranked PG, but.....    awfully small and a huge logjam in the backcourt.   If he comes, I wonder who leaves.

Can someone give me a clear cut picture of the scholarship situation?

1 open, 2 if Henry declares?

[jsglow]

Technically right now we are at zero for '16.  BUT we all fully expect Bailey to go on his LDS mission in the Fall rather than begin school (thereby creating 1).  Then if HE opts out, it'll be 2.

Recall that you are able to oversign formally by 1 so if a recruit were to sign before some paperwork was done for Bailey that'll still work out.

[LAZER]

Always take a highly ranked PG, but.....    awfully small and a huge logjam in the backcourt.   If he comes, I wonder who leaves.

Well the outlook definitely depends on if he comes '16 or '17.

[Jay Bee]

Technically right now we are at zero for '16.  BUT we all fully expect Bailey to go on his LDS mission in the Fall rather than begin school (thereby creating 1).  Then if HE opts out, it'll be 2.

Recall that you are able to oversign formally by 1 so if a recruit were to sign before some paperwork was done for Bailey that'll still work out.

Huh? That's not true.

[wadesworld]

Well the outlook definitely depends on if he comes '16 or '17.

Yup.  But this kid is a stud.  This would be a huge, huge get.

BeeJay, you seen the kid play?  I've only seen highlights, any similarities to Tyus Jones?  That's who he reminds me of in his highlights.

[4everwarriors]

Is he Jewish, hey?

[GoldenWarrior11]

Point guard, specifically protecting the ball on offense, has been a consistent struggle this year.  Carter/Cheatham/Wilson have all shown flashes of being really good at point guard, but each has continually turned the ball off and made silly, careless mistakes with the ball.

Cheatham/Wilson are more suited to be wing players, and Carter, who is most definitely a PG, could use someone that will push him for minutes.  The turnovers needs to start getting lower, especially against Big East teams who capitalize on the mistakes. 

Having said that, if Henry decides to leave, we suddenly have a huge gaping hole at the F/C spots.  We'd have Luke for just one more year, and Heldt would get significantly more minutes if he slots in next to Luke.  After that, there's not a whole lot of height in a group with a lot of slashers/ball-handlers. 

I would think that F/C would be more pressing, but perhaps Wojo has been told that Henry plans on staying for a second year.

[wadesworld]

Point guard, specifically protecting the ball on offense, has been a consistent struggle this year.  Carter/Cheatham/Wilson have all shown flashes of being really good at point guard, but each has continually turned the ball off and made silly, careless mistakes with the ball.

Cheatham/Wilson are more suited to be wing players, and Carter, who is most definitely a PG, could use someone that will push him for minutes.  The turnovers needs to start getting lower, especially against Big East teams who capitalize on the mistakes. 

Having said that, if Henry decides to leave, we suddenly have a huge gaping hole at the F/C spots.  We'd have Luke for just one more year, and Heldt would get significantly more minutes if he slots in next to Luke.  After that, there's not a whole lot of height in a group with a lot of slashers/ball-handlers. 

I would think that F/C would be more pressing, but perhaps Wojo has been told that Henry plans on staying for a second year.

If Henry leaves, Bailey goes on his mission, and Howard commits to Marquette and decides to reclassify to 2016, that leaves us one more scholarship available.  We can take Howard and still address the need for another big.

[forgetful]

If Howard comes to MU in 2016, he will be the best PG on the roster and the Best PG MU has had since James.

With Howard, even without Henry, the 2016 team would be a better team.  With Henry, sweet 16 would be the floor.

[CountryRoads]

Always take a highly ranked PG, but.....    awfully small and a huge logjam in the backcourt.   If he comes, I wonder who leaves.

I'm not seeing the log jam at the point guard position. If anything that position is wide open at this point imo.

[Jay Bee]

Yup.  But this kid is a stud.  This would be a huge, huge get.

BeeJay, you seen the kid play?  I've only seen highlights, any similarities to Tyus Jones?  That's who he reminds me of in his highlights.

Yes, have seen him in person. Tyus' most special gift is his ability to see the floor and dish... Howard is far more of a scorer. At Duke's, Tyus took 17.6% of his team's shots when on the floor.. Markus projects similar to a Henry... (28%)... he flat out performs.. over and over... on various different stages.. dude is money.

Not tall and not long.. but a heckuva player.

Brother is at Central Arkansas.. the brother is a sophomore and actually very good... same size. #PackageDeal would seal it.

[tower912]

I'm not seeing the log jam at the point guard position. If anything that position is wide open at this point imo.

Howard, Carter, Rowsey.

[🏀]

Rowsey is more of a 2.

Definitely getting heavy in the 2 and 3.

[brewcity77]

Currently for 2016:

Seniors (3): Luke Fischer, Jajuan Johnson, Wally Ellenson
Juniors (3): Sandy Cohen, Duane Wilson, Andrew Rowsey
Sophomores: (5): Henry Ellenson, Haanif Cheatham, Traci Carter, Matt Heldt, Sacar Anim
Freshmen (1): Sam Hauser

That's 12 total scholarships. Bailey will not count because he will be on his mission. That leaves us with one opening for Howard, and more if anyone would leave school for any reason.

[BM1090]

http://www.prepcircuit.com/news_article/show/600284-interview-markus-howard-nabs-2nd-hoophall-mvp-puts-up-perfect-game-vs-st-benedict-s

Interview from today with Markus. No mention of recruiting but wanted to post it anyways. Impressive kid.

[Stretchdeltsig]

Wow. He will be a great player for MU.  We need guys that can shoot.

[jsglow]

Huh? That's not true.

What part?  At this exact moment there are 13 players signed for next year.  My understanding is that another could be added right now and that the 'formal' count would take place when school starts in August.  The best information as corroborated by MU directly is that Bailey won't be there at that time.  Hence, 12.  So if you have some more technically accurate answer I'm all ears.

[forgetful]

Yes, have seen him in person. Tyus' most special gift is his ability to see the floor and dish... Howard is far more of a scorer. At Duke's, Tyus took 17.6% of his team's shots when on the floor.. Markus projects similar to a Henry... (28%)... he flat out performs.. over and over... on various different stages.. dude is money.

Not tall and not long.. but a heckuva player.

Brother is at Central Arkansas.. the brother is a sophomore and actually very good... same size. #PackageDeal would seal it.

Hell, Jordan Howard would start for us this year.  Could do far worse than getting him as a package deal (44% 3 pt shooter).  The problem would be what do we do with all those sub 6' guys. 

[jsglow]

Yes, have seen him in person. Tyus' most special gift is his ability to see the floor and dish... Howard is far more of a scorer. At Duke's, Tyus took 17.6% of his team's shots when on the floor.. Markus projects similar to a Henry... (28%)... he flat out performs.. over and over... on various different stages.. dude is money.

Not tall and not long.. but a heckuva player.

Brother is at Central Arkansas.. the brother is a sophomore and actually very good... same size. #PackageDeal would seal it.

Are you hearing that and are we pursuing both?  (Caveat:  I understand that we can't directly recruit a D-1 player on another team.)

[MU82]

Are there actually people who think we should pass on an elite PG because we have needs elsewhere?

Please. Elite PGs come along only once a generation or two, and if this guy is as good as those who have seen him say ... we not only want him but we need him.

[tower912]

How good is he?   Is he an elite keys-to-the-team-on-the-first-day-of-practice PG, a la Dominic James?  I've seen the videos and in all of the highlight reels he looks like a pocket sized Steph Curry.   But will his size (or lack thereof) translate in the Big East?    Can he defend?   Can he do all of the stuff he does against bigger guys who are as quick as he is?   

[brewcity77]

How good is he?   Is he an elite keys-to-the-team-on-the-first-day-of-practice PG, a la Dominic James?  I've seen the videos and in all of the highlight reels he looks like a pocket sized Steph Curry.   But will his size (or lack thereof) translate in the Big East?    Can he defend?   Can he do all of the stuff he does against bigger guys who are as quick as he is?   

The good news is he's doing it at Findlay Prep, which is truly one of the elite schools in the country, playing against the best of the best. Howard's not a top-10 player like Henry, but he is playing at a very high level. I think he would have a shot to compete for minutes immediately his first year. Is he first-year Dom James? Not sure, but he will likely be ranked higher than James was. I think he has elite college PG potential. The problem is that other than for the top-10 type players, you never really know the answers to these questions until they lace them up in real games.

[WarriorPride68]

- Saw 247 say Hurley & Wojo are recruiting him the hardest.

- His dad is an Indiana alum, who he will visit also