Catching Up On Mizzou Basketball Recruiting: It's Still 2014 Edition

Since our last post, National Signing day happened. And probably until the end of the basketball season I'm going to keep these posts focused on the 2015 class.  Last time around we used a graphic that looked like this:

Since that list, a lot has happened. Here is the summary:

• Kevin Puryear signed his Letter of Intent with Missouri
• Cullen VanLeer signed his Letter of Intent with Missouri
• Isaiah Briscoe spurned Missouri to sign with an unheralded Kentucky team.
• Dwayne Bacon is heading to Florida State, officially.
• Jimmy Whitt signed his Letter of Intent with Mike Anderson, who is the wrong Anderson.
• Juwan Morgan signed with Indiana. On purpose.
• Shake Milton signed with Southern Methodist University, because his parents are strict Methodists, I'm certain.
• Landry Shamet signed his LOI with Wichita State.
• Alex Owens put his name on some paper confirming he's headed to Providence.
• All Name Team Candidate Kaiser Gates put pen to paper for Xavier.
• LeGerald Vick reclassified to 2016 and committed to SMU.
• C.J. Williamson made it official and chose to spend more time in Lubbock at Texas Tech.
• I'll update this list at the bottom of the post, remove anyone who has officially signed (because, then Missouri is REALLY out of the running), and add in anyone who now has offers.

NEW NAMES!

Jaquan Lyle, 2015, 6-5, 215 lb Combo Guard, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Florida

Who he is: Lyle is an interesting case. He is a big guard, and former 5-star top 20 player in the 2014 class. He committed to Oregon, signed, and wasn't admitted. These kinds of things happen, just not very often, and not very often with 5-star guys. Since he wasn't admitted, he enrolled in the prep school IMG Academy in Florida, and briefly considered other schools before ultimately settling on just reclassifying to 2015.

How Mizzou is in the picture: If you watched the highlight video before reading this, you'll notice that Lyle attended Huntington Prep, with our friend Rob Fulford. After he wasn't admitted to Oregon, Lyle reopened his recruiting and Mizzou jumped in.

Is there a chance?: Lyle has visited LSU, still has Oregon on his list, but Mizzou is in there as well. Indiana is supposed to also be vying for the young man. I'd be surprised to see Lyle end up at Missouri, but not shocked. At this point anytime a former HP player comes available you have to assume that Mizzou is a possible destination. I still like Oregon's chances to securing Lyle after he finished his post-grad year. Let's see if Mizzou can get him on campus soon.

Traci Carter, 2015, 6-0, 160 lb Point Guard, Life Center Academy, Burlington, New Jersey

Who he is: A 4-star point guard who was hurt over the summer and just now getting healthy, Carter is seeing his recruiting heat up now that he's back and ready to go. He's super fast with good handles and a nice mid-range game. Overall he's not too dissimilar from Jimmy Whitt, although not quite as long.

How Mizzou is in the picture: Mizzou is losing Keith Shamburger next season, so they're on the hunt for a point guard. Not sure of any direct ties, but Tim Fuller has worked the New Jersey area before with Isaiah Briscoe, so that's a likelihood.

Is there a chance?: Probably a long shot. He's an east coast guy, and UConn is hot on his trail, along with Louisville and Tennessee. I think Missouri could get into the mix, but they'd have to get him on campus first. And seeing as how Carter's recruiting is really starting to pick up, I'd wait to see if he gets to campus before getting to excited about this young man.

Kobie Eubanks, 2015, 6-5, 215 lb Shooting Guard, Elev8 Sports Academy, Delray Beach, Florida

Who he is: The 3-star former 2014 class shooting guard, Eubanks is a nice shooter with a solid body who can get to the rim and has solid range outside. Eubanks is at prep school after graduating high school, so he would be a lot like adding a sophomore next year.

How Mizzou is in the picture: Tim Fuller actually recruited Eubanks before Frank Haith left. About the same time, Eubanks pledged to Baylor as a 2014 prospect. He had transcript problems and couldn't get into Baylor. Which may not have been a bad thing for him, as Baylor seems pretty full at the wing position, so he decommitted and opened his recruiting. Since then Mizzou has been in contact with him.

Is there a chance?: Probably a small one. He's had coaching visist from Maryland, Boston College and Missouri, he's also gotten interest from Pitt and Maryland. It will be interesting to see if Missouri gets him on campus, since it appears they have a bigger need at the point guard, and Eubanks is more of an off guard.

Levi Cook, 2015, 6-10, 300 lb Center, Huntington Prep, Huntington, West Virginia

Who he is: The video above is a few years old, not much new footage is available on Cook. He's a 3-star unranked big body center who is currently at Huntington Prep. He plays, but doesn't get the highlights that Thomas Bryant, Miles Bridges and Curtis Jones all get. He's a bit slow, but he size make up for it. He's going to be more in the Ryan Rosburg mold than some of the other better athletes out there. He seems to have pretty soft hands, which is good for a guy his size.

How Mizzou is in the picture: I'm a little offended you asked actually, but here goes anyway... He's at Huntington Prep because of Rob Fulford. Cook was originally committed to West Virginia, but since decommitted. So he's open.

Is there a chance?: Sure there is. I think Cook is a back up plan for Mizzou though. They need a center, or a post at least, in this class. If they miss out on Ted Kapita and Thomas Bryant I'd expect them to move onto Cook. He's not going to excite anyone, but he's a big body who can contribute spot minutes right away due to his size. He's big, but a middle of the road prospect at this point.

Terrence Phillips, 2015, 5-10, 175 lb Point Guard, Oak Hill Academy, Mouth Of Wilson, Virginia

Who he is: Brandon Jennings brother for one. The all-time leading assist maker at Oak Hill Academy for another. The 3-star unranked Phillips is a pass first point guard who broke the Assist & Steal record for a weekend at the Marshall County Hoops fest (which is a very prominent high school basketball weekend festival). He's not incredibly big, but plays hard and is very unselfish.

How Mizzou is in the picture: Mizzou has been tracking the point guard for some time, since this summer when coach Rob Fulford scouted the Chris Paul Guard camp in August. He's very high on Missouri and plans to take an official visit before the end of the year is possible, and has said he wants to get his decision out of the way before the season wraps up.

Is there a chance?: This can all change, but Missouri is apparently in the top 2 for Phillips, with Loyola Marymount. So there isn't much competition as of yet. Auburn and Virginia Tech have been tracking him as well, but from the way Phillips has talked he really seems to like his top two. It would be interesting to see if anyone else coming in to offer would make a difference, but for now it looks like this guy might be Missouri's to lose.

Mychal Mulder, 2015, 6-4, 190 lb Small Forward, Vincennes University (Junior College), Windsor, ONT

Who he is: Mulder is a big wing from Canada (sound familiar?), who is currently leading the top ranked Vincennes in scoring at around 15 ppg.

How Mizzou is in the picture: Missouri is apparently trying to field an all-Canadian roster. With Montaque Gill-Caesar already on the roster, Mizzou is also recruiting a few other Canadians. Mulder's name has popped up a few times since Kim Anderson took over, and it looks like Missouri is increasing their play for him with an offer recently.

Is there a chance?: At this point, Missouri is the largest school to offer (not the best, Wichita State is better right now), but it's hard to argue with immediate playing time at an SEC school. It's also a look that Mizzou could be trying to even out some of the classes. They'll have only two Juniors next year, with Clark and Williams, so adding a JUCO wing would make 3. It's a move that makes sense actually.

Dequon Miller, 5-10, 170 lb Point Guard, Motlow State CC, Lynchburg, Tennessee

Who he is: Not 5-10 first of all. Miller is a lightning quick 3-star point guard from Tennessee. He qualified out of high school, but went JUCO to improve his offer list. And it's improved so far.

How Mizzou is in the picture: Miller has actually been on the Tigers radar for a while. Rumor was that the previous staff was looking at Miller to bring in with last years class since he had already qualified, but after Haith left, Fuller must have maintained contact and the coaches visited with Miller in September. No offer at this point, but they're tracking him closely.

Is there a chance?: I don't feel like there is much of a chance here. A JUCO PG isn't something that really strikes me as a big need for Mizzou, unless something happens with Wes Clark, and he transfers out. Right now we have no reason to believe that would happen. Tennessee, Ole Miss and a few mid-majors are hot on Miller's trail also, and those teams could have more immediate need for point guard help and more minutes.

So let's take a look at the Full list.

So this is pretty much the full list of 2015 players that Mizzou is tracking. That said, there are a couple other names to keep in mind for 2015. First is Jamal Murray. Murray is a 2016 combo guard at Orangeville Prep in Orangeville, Ontario. Basically it's the same situation that Teki Gill-Caesar was in, Murray can reclassify to 2015 if he wants to. He's a guy that I know Missouri likes a lot, and if he reclassifies, you could see them step up his recruitment. The other name is Thon Maker. Maker is also a possibility to reclassify, but not likely to attend Missouri. Although if he did reclassify there could be a small chance he chooses to go to a school like Missouri because there is a better chance for a lot of minutes.

If I had my pick...

Here is the current scholarship layout for next year and beyond.

With two scholarships available (for certain) next year, my top two choices are Thomas Bryant and Antonio Blakeney. What will be interesting is what happens beyond the two scholarship offers. I don't know many that wouldn't take those top two, and Missouri isn't exactly a lock for either. Where things get interesting is with any additional roster turnover. Kim Anderson is still in year one, and there might be some guys who are thinking that maybe this isn't the right fit for them. Who those guys are? No telling. But the most likely guys are ones that were on the roster BEFORE Anderson was hired. At this point I'd be pretty surprised by any of the freshman leaving. I would be surprised to see JW3 leave, and I would be stunned to see Rosburg leave also. If Clark steadies himself in the next few months, I think he's likely to stay also. The biggest question mark would be Deuce Bello. Bello is in year 4 of college and could be a 5th year transfer guy. And anyone that might move on are probably going to require a replacement in the same mold.

So that's a wrap on it for now. If there's any news, we'll obviously post it and update the graphics. But I don't see much news coming out on this until after the season.