Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski and his staff’s activity on the recruiting trail is heating up as the third and final July evaluation period looms less than 36 hours away.
Wojciechowski took advantage of this brief window between the second and third evaluation periods to offer five AAU standouts– Darryl Morsell, Courtney Ramey, Matthew Hurt, Torrence Watson and Terrence Lewis– scholarships Monday.
Of the five newly-offered targets, 2017 stars Morsell and Lewis would be the first to make an impact on campus. Morsell, a 6-foot-4 guard from Baltimore’s Mount Saint Joseph’s High School, has already received a plethora of scholarship offers. In July alone, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, West Virginia and Notre Dame have offered Morsell. However, Morsell is not ranked on any major recruiting site.
Lewis, on the other hand, is ranked by ESPN as the 65th-best prospect in the 2017 class and the second-best in Wisconsin behind Michigan commit Jordan Poole. Wojciechowski joins a long list of coaches to offer the Milwaukee Riverside product including Wisconsin’s Greg Gard, Minnesota’s Richard Pitino, DePaul’s Dave Leitao and Illinois’ John Groce. UWM’s LaVall Jordan and Bradley’s Brian Wardle, a Marquette alum, are also targeting the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s 2016 Area Player of the Year.
Ramey, a 2018 point guard, was considered one of the stars at the NY2LA Summer Jam in Mequon, Wisconsin, late last week. The six-foot point currently holds offers from Northwestern, Ohio State, Florida, Texas, Texas A&M, Creighton, Iowa and several other schools. Scout.com ranks Ramey as the twelth-best point in his class.
Watson, an AAU teammate of Ramey on Jets/Ramey United, has also garnered interest from Division I juggernauts, especially in the Midwest and Great Plains. Suitors include Creighton, Iowa State, Missouri, Kansas State and Saint Louis.
The lone 2019 target to collect an offer from Wojo Monday is Rochester, Minnesota native Matthew Hurt. The five-star power forward’s skills and size would make him a great addition to the Blue and Gold. Hurt, the 22nd-best recruit according to ESPN, already has quite a few college choices including Florida, Xavier, Minnesota, Virginia and Wisconsin. Minnesota will be utilizing a weapon Marquette is quite familiar with– an older sibling. Matthew’s older brother, Michael will embark on his freshman season with the Golden Gophers this fall.
Class of 2017 targets Theo John and Xavier Tillman narrowed down their list of prospective schools, and Marquette remains in consideration for both prospects. Tillman announced that he will be deciding between Marquette, Michigan State, Florida and Purdue. A source suggested that Tillman’s most likely destinations are Marquette and Purdue. Former Marquette head coaches Buzz Williams and Tom Crean both offered Tillman on behalf of Virginia Tech and Indiana, respectively, but did not make the cut.
Meanwhile, John announced via Twitter Tuesday that his final six schools are Marquette, California, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Purdue and Illinois. John, who is playing summer basketball with Howard Pulley, only scored six and seven points in two NY2LA Summer Jam games Thursday. While he did not display a huge offensive showing, John proved that he can be effective without the ball in his hands, running the court and defending with ease. John is summer teammates with UW commit Brad Davison.
On a different note, 2018 forward Joey Hauser continues to rack up attention from across the nation. Minutes after talking to the Marquette Wire last Thursday, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo offered him a scholarship. The Stevens Point, Wisconsin, native visited East Lansing last month.
The final July evaluation period will begin Wednesday at 5 p.m and will end Sunday at 5 p.m. The remainder of July will be a dead period, which bars coaches from any in-person contact with recruits.
