On hoops recruiting, @_keeganpope caught up with Myron Gardner's coach for a story yesterday.
At this point, Gardner is the only known target. We don't think he is the only target. We think Missouri will probably add to the class beyond him and we'd expect it to be a forward, preferably a bigger one.
We updated the basketball scholarship chart this morning. As of this moment, Missouri has 12 scholarships spoken for, which means it has one to give. But that is almost certainly going to grow by one. It's been--and remains--a fluid situation with Jontay Porter, but based on what we've been hearing recently, he's almost certainly going to enter the NBA Draft next year. This should not come as a surprise, but figured we'd pass on that it is the expected outcome, which would mean Missouri would have two scholarships to give in this class if it chooses to do so. One of those could be Gardner, one could be a big man, quite possibly of the juco or transfer variety.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
Missouri is expected to have four official visitors on campus this weekend. Official visits are still allowed next weekend. We aren't sure at this point if Missouri will be bringing anyone in then or not. There's a chance the Tigers could finish the class off before then.
Massey has been committed to the Tigers for a while, he just hadn't taken his official visit. He will do so this weekend and may be a very strong recruiter for the uncommitted prospects who are going to be in town.
*Trevon Hill, the graduate transfer defensive end from Virginia Tech, is also scheduled to take an official visit to Columbia this weekend. There was a report out that Hill had decided to transfer to Miami, which he refuted on Twitter.
Now, before you get to excited about Hill, hang on. Our information is that Missouri might not be able to take him right now. He's got work to get done in the classroom to graduate and Mizzou may not be in a position to wait to see if that happens. Our feeling is that if they can fill the defensive line class with players they like (they need two), they'll probably go ahead and do so. If there's still a spot open and Hill gets his work done and this is where he wants to be, that could happen. But we don't expect any positive news on that front in the immediate future.
Linton visited Arizona State way back in the summer and a lot have forecast him to end up in Tempe. He also took officials to Baylor, Syracuse and USF. Missouri offered ten days ago and is already getting him on campus for his fifth and final official, which can only be a positive. UCLA, Louisville and Rutgers have all been in contact lately, but the Tigers are getting the last official visit (not that he couldn't take an unofficial or two in the next week). He's planning to announce on National Signing Day, which is February 6th.
Martin is a new name on the radar. He signed with LSU out of high school, but battled injury and wasn't really in the rotation and left to go the junior college route. He's been at East Mississippi JC and will be on campus this weekend. When we asked what other visits he had taken or will take he mentioned Kansas and Arkansas, but we aren't sure if he's already visited those places or not. We checked with someone we know who covers LSU and it sounded like Martin had some maturing to do from the first time he was on campus. He was a very productive high school player, it just didn't work in Baton Rouge.
The goal would be to add Linton and Martin out of this weekend. If they can do that, the Tigers are done with the class. So here's what that means:
We do not expect Pearl to be a part of the class. Not sure where things stand academically, but we told you in December that if Missouri could find players it liked more than Pearl and Arvell Ferguson, it would sign them. As @Sean_Williams previously posted, we expect Ferguson to go the junior college route. Not sure on Pearl, just that we don't expect him to sign with the Tigers in two weeks.
We're pretty confident you can close the book on Graves as well. From what we're hearing, it's unlikely he's going to be in a position to play at the FBS level next year. The academics just haven't gotten taken care of. Now, things happen and you never know if a kid can turn things around and make up a lot of ground late, but at this point, it seems unlikely. And it's certainly to a point where Missouri isn't waiting around to see. Anyone that signs Graves in February would be taking a big risk that he'll get the classwork done. It would surprise us if he signs anywhere in two weeks. It would also surprise us if he's on an FBS roster next season. If something changes in this regard, we'll certainly let you know, but this should prevent the regular questions about him. Don't look for him to be a part of this class.
To recap, if Missouri can get Linton and Martin, the class is complete. Our intuition tells us the Tigers aren't really in the mix for Danielson Ike, who visited last weekend. Nobody has specifically told us that and Ike hasn't responded to our requests to talk to him about the visit, so it's a guess, but we don't think Missouri would have taken Angel Matute if it thought it was likely to get Ike. If the Tigers miss on one or both of Linton and Martin, the goal is still two more defensive ends, we just aren't sure which ones. Pearl could very well re-enter the picture at that point or they could circle back on a kid like Brandon Gary. We're hoping to talk with Martin and Linton on Sunday and have a better idea where things stand at that point.
At this point, Gardner is the only known target. We don't think he is the only target. We think Missouri will probably add to the class beyond him and we'd expect it to be a forward, preferably a bigger one.
We updated the basketball scholarship chart this morning. As of this moment, Missouri has 12 scholarships spoken for, which means it has one to give. But that is almost certainly going to grow by one. It's been--and remains--a fluid situation with Jontay Porter, but based on what we've been hearing recently, he's almost certainly going to enter the NBA Draft next year. This should not come as a surprise, but figured we'd pass on that it is the expected outcome, which would mean Missouri would have two scholarships to give in this class if it chooses to do so. One of those could be Gardner, one could be a big man, quite possibly of the juco or transfer variety.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING
Missouri is expected to have four official visitors on campus this weekend. Official visits are still allowed next weekend. We aren't sure at this point if Missouri will be bringing anyone in then or not. There's a chance the Tigers could finish the class off before then.
Massey has been committed to the Tigers for a while, he just hadn't taken his official visit. He will do so this weekend and may be a very strong recruiter for the uncommitted prospects who are going to be in town.
*Trevon Hill, the graduate transfer defensive end from Virginia Tech, is also scheduled to take an official visit to Columbia this weekend. There was a report out that Hill had decided to transfer to Miami, which he refuted on Twitter.
Now, before you get to excited about Hill, hang on. Our information is that Missouri might not be able to take him right now. He's got work to get done in the classroom to graduate and Mizzou may not be in a position to wait to see if that happens. Our feeling is that if they can fill the defensive line class with players they like (they need two), they'll probably go ahead and do so. If there's still a spot open and Hill gets his work done and this is where he wants to be, that could happen. But we don't expect any positive news on that front in the immediate future.
Linton visited Arizona State way back in the summer and a lot have forecast him to end up in Tempe. He also took officials to Baylor, Syracuse and USF. Missouri offered ten days ago and is already getting him on campus for his fifth and final official, which can only be a positive. UCLA, Louisville and Rutgers have all been in contact lately, but the Tigers are getting the last official visit (not that he couldn't take an unofficial or two in the next week). He's planning to announce on National Signing Day, which is February 6th.
Martin is a new name on the radar. He signed with LSU out of high school, but battled injury and wasn't really in the rotation and left to go the junior college route. He's been at East Mississippi JC and will be on campus this weekend. When we asked what other visits he had taken or will take he mentioned Kansas and Arkansas, but we aren't sure if he's already visited those places or not. We checked with someone we know who covers LSU and it sounded like Martin had some maturing to do from the first time he was on campus. He was a very productive high school player, it just didn't work in Baton Rouge.
The goal would be to add Linton and Martin out of this weekend. If they can do that, the Tigers are done with the class. So here's what that means:
We do not expect Pearl to be a part of the class. Not sure where things stand academically, but we told you in December that if Missouri could find players it liked more than Pearl and Arvell Ferguson, it would sign them. As @Sean_Williams previously posted, we expect Ferguson to go the junior college route. Not sure on Pearl, just that we don't expect him to sign with the Tigers in two weeks.
We're pretty confident you can close the book on Graves as well. From what we're hearing, it's unlikely he's going to be in a position to play at the FBS level next year. The academics just haven't gotten taken care of. Now, things happen and you never know if a kid can turn things around and make up a lot of ground late, but at this point, it seems unlikely. And it's certainly to a point where Missouri isn't waiting around to see. Anyone that signs Graves in February would be taking a big risk that he'll get the classwork done. It would surprise us if he signs anywhere in two weeks. It would also surprise us if he's on an FBS roster next season. If something changes in this regard, we'll certainly let you know, but this should prevent the regular questions about him. Don't look for him to be a part of this class.
To recap, if Missouri can get Linton and Martin, the class is complete. Our intuition tells us the Tigers aren't really in the mix for Danielson Ike, who visited last weekend. Nobody has specifically told us that and Ike hasn't responded to our requests to talk to him about the visit, so it's a guess, but we don't think Missouri would have taken Angel Matute if it thought it was likely to get Ike. If the Tigers miss on one or both of Linton and Martin, the goal is still two more defensive ends, we just aren't sure which ones. Pearl could very well re-enter the picture at that point or they could circle back on a kid like Brandon Gary. We're hoping to talk with Martin and Linton on Sunday and have a better idea where things stand at that point.
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