BASKETBALL RECRUITING
We're starting with hoops because miracle of all miracles, a new name surfaced this week and even more miraculous, he answered the phone when we reached out to him.
That's obviously Sinclair CC guard Sean McNeil, who we wrote about a couple of days ago.
Gotta be honest, first reaction for me was similar to that of many on the board: They're offering another guard? Is it just gonna be Jeremiah Tilmon, Tray Jackson and a bunch of 6-5 and under guys? But really, that might not be the worst thing. They've played four guards for quite a bit of the last couple of home games and they've actually been better when they've done it. And if you have guys all over the floor that can shoot the ball, it puts pressure on the other team defensively and often makes them go small as well to match your speed and quickness.
To be honest, reviews have been mixed on him. Yeah, he's a good shooter and 40% plus from three is usually going to translate (not always, but usually) to any level. But we've talked to some people who have seen him play a fair amount who just don't think he's a high major player.
But philosophically, it's always kind of been our take not to question who a coach is offering or how he is choosing to put together his roster. They make millions to do that and we make pocket change to write about it so we're going to admit they probably know more about it than we do.
So McNeil has an offer. He'll start setting up visits in March. Looking at the offer list as of now, we'd think Missouri should get one of them. There are a couple more weeks where more schools could come in and change that, but as of now, we'd think the Tigers will at least get a visit. Beyond that, no idea really where Mizzou stands, or honestly if they'll even end up taking him. We need to remind you guys that a lot of offers go out and then disappear. These things always have an expiration date. Maybe they find somebody they like better. But for now, McNeil is the name du jour (that's the name of the day).
We are also confident Missouri's going to add another bigger body this spring. That could very well be a juco or a grad transfer. Not sure who at this point, but we feel pretty confident the Tigers will add another forward--or at least someone big enough to play forward--between now and the end of the late signing period.
As far as 2020 goes, had someone tell us this week things are trending very well with Josh Christopher and Cam'Ron Fletcher. As always, it's just rumor and it could change by next week or could even be different as of right now if we asked a different person. Just passing on one perspective we heard this week. We'll cover at least one of the big AAU events this spring/summer (likely Indianapolis, which gives us a chance to see UnderArmour and Nike both close to each other and tends to have better access than Peach Jam) and we'll definitely try to talk to both of them, as well as other major Mizzou targets, when we're there.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
Missouri will have another junior day on March 9 and likely some spring football visitors outside of that. As we get names on those, we'll share them in the coming weeks. As of right now, not a lot going on in regards to recruiting right now other than pretty much daily new offers which we've been posting on the board, so this will be a little bit of a rewind segment regarding some notable list cuts for a three Missouri targets this past week:
- Bright cut his list down to eight schools, they include Baylor, Texas Tech, Arizona, Nebraska, Memphis, Kansas, Oregon State, and Missouri. In regards to the Tigers (the Mizzou version), the 3-star prospect told PowerMizzou.com earlier this week that he intends to take an official visit to Missouri sometime this spring. He's the first target that has told us his intentions to take an early official visit, so he's one to keep an eye on. Out of all the schools on his list, he has only visited Texas Tech and Baylor unofficially.
- On Thursday, Moore released a top six that includes Arkansas, Purdue, Missouri, Memphis, Tulane, and UTSA. I exchanged messaged with the three-star prospect, who told me that Missouri, while just offering recently, has been in contact with him since the beginning of his recruiting process. He's built a good relationship with Coach Walters and Hargreaves throughout and is planning to visit campus soon.
- We'll file this particular list cut under "insignificant," but Snow did include Missouri among his Top 13, which is obviously a big number. The four-star told PowerMizzou.com that he credited his relationship with defensive coordinator Ryan Walters as to why he included the Tigers in his list. Now, whether he ends up visiting remains to be seen. There is a lot of chatter surrounding Michigan State with Snow and rightfully so as Darius is the son of former Spartan basketball player Eric Snow.
- It's been a big week for former Missouri wide receiver commitment (2018 class) and current Blinn C.C. (Tex.) product Danny Gray, who picked up offers from Tennessee and Utah. We reached out to Gray to inquire about Missouri, who informed us that he still talks to the coaching staff and Coach Ofodile on a regular basis and they have told him that their offer still stands. Gray tallied 15 catches for 409 yards and six touchdowns and 351 return yards during his freshman year at Blinn. He is a 2020 prospect now and told us he is on track to graduate in December.
We're starting with hoops because miracle of all miracles, a new name surfaced this week and even more miraculous, he answered the phone when we reached out to him.
That's obviously Sinclair CC guard Sean McNeil, who we wrote about a couple of days ago.
Gotta be honest, first reaction for me was similar to that of many on the board: They're offering another guard? Is it just gonna be Jeremiah Tilmon, Tray Jackson and a bunch of 6-5 and under guys? But really, that might not be the worst thing. They've played four guards for quite a bit of the last couple of home games and they've actually been better when they've done it. And if you have guys all over the floor that can shoot the ball, it puts pressure on the other team defensively and often makes them go small as well to match your speed and quickness.
To be honest, reviews have been mixed on him. Yeah, he's a good shooter and 40% plus from three is usually going to translate (not always, but usually) to any level. But we've talked to some people who have seen him play a fair amount who just don't think he's a high major player.
But philosophically, it's always kind of been our take not to question who a coach is offering or how he is choosing to put together his roster. They make millions to do that and we make pocket change to write about it so we're going to admit they probably know more about it than we do.
So McNeil has an offer. He'll start setting up visits in March. Looking at the offer list as of now, we'd think Missouri should get one of them. There are a couple more weeks where more schools could come in and change that, but as of now, we'd think the Tigers will at least get a visit. Beyond that, no idea really where Mizzou stands, or honestly if they'll even end up taking him. We need to remind you guys that a lot of offers go out and then disappear. These things always have an expiration date. Maybe they find somebody they like better. But for now, McNeil is the name du jour (that's the name of the day).
We are also confident Missouri's going to add another bigger body this spring. That could very well be a juco or a grad transfer. Not sure who at this point, but we feel pretty confident the Tigers will add another forward--or at least someone big enough to play forward--between now and the end of the late signing period.
As far as 2020 goes, had someone tell us this week things are trending very well with Josh Christopher and Cam'Ron Fletcher. As always, it's just rumor and it could change by next week or could even be different as of right now if we asked a different person. Just passing on one perspective we heard this week. We'll cover at least one of the big AAU events this spring/summer (likely Indianapolis, which gives us a chance to see UnderArmour and Nike both close to each other and tends to have better access than Peach Jam) and we'll definitely try to talk to both of them, as well as other major Mizzou targets, when we're there.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
Missouri will have another junior day on March 9 and likely some spring football visitors outside of that. As we get names on those, we'll share them in the coming weeks. As of right now, not a lot going on in regards to recruiting right now other than pretty much daily new offers which we've been posting on the board, so this will be a little bit of a rewind segment regarding some notable list cuts for a three Missouri targets this past week:
- Bright cut his list down to eight schools, they include Baylor, Texas Tech, Arizona, Nebraska, Memphis, Kansas, Oregon State, and Missouri. In regards to the Tigers (the Mizzou version), the 3-star prospect told PowerMizzou.com earlier this week that he intends to take an official visit to Missouri sometime this spring. He's the first target that has told us his intentions to take an early official visit, so he's one to keep an eye on. Out of all the schools on his list, he has only visited Texas Tech and Baylor unofficially.
- On Thursday, Moore released a top six that includes Arkansas, Purdue, Missouri, Memphis, Tulane, and UTSA. I exchanged messaged with the three-star prospect, who told me that Missouri, while just offering recently, has been in contact with him since the beginning of his recruiting process. He's built a good relationship with Coach Walters and Hargreaves throughout and is planning to visit campus soon.
- We'll file this particular list cut under "insignificant," but Snow did include Missouri among his Top 13, which is obviously a big number. The four-star told PowerMizzou.com that he credited his relationship with defensive coordinator Ryan Walters as to why he included the Tigers in his list. Now, whether he ends up visiting remains to be seen. There is a lot of chatter surrounding Michigan State with Snow and rightfully so as Darius is the son of former Spartan basketball player Eric Snow.
- It's been a big week for former Missouri wide receiver commitment (2018 class) and current Blinn C.C. (Tex.) product Danny Gray, who picked up offers from Tennessee and Utah. We reached out to Gray to inquire about Missouri, who informed us that he still talks to the coaching staff and Coach Ofodile on a regular basis and they have told him that their offer still stands. Gray tallied 15 catches for 409 yards and six touchdowns and 351 return yards during his freshman year at Blinn. He is a 2020 prospect now and told us he is on track to graduate in December.
