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Mizzou getting visits from Eron Gordon and Cheickna Dembele

I've been able to confirm which was first reported by Corey Evans and Jeff Borzello

Good recruiting news, Mizzou Hoops fans:

RockMNation FanShot: 6'10 Cheickna Dembele to visit Mizzou May 6 weekend

RockMNation FanShot: 4-star guard Eron Gordon to ALSO visit on May 6

We've talked a lot about Eron Gordon being off and on Mizzou's radar since early December, making his first check-in on the Recruiting update December 8th. Cheickna Dembele has been on Mizzou's radar since late January, making his first appearance on the Recruiting Update February 15th.

Let's talk Dembele first. According to Corey Evans, of HoopSeen.com, Dembele has a listed finalist group of:

  • Michigan St
  • UNLV
  • Missouri
  • Pitt
  • Syracuse
  • Iowa St
  • Temple
  • St. Joe's
  • Baylor

As you can see, that's a strong list of schools that are still interested in him. UNLV got the first visit, sounds like Missouri gets the second. That leaves three visits and I'd bet Michigan St and Syracuse getting two of them, leaving Iowa St, Pitt, Baylor, Temple and St. Joe's to battle it out for the last Official. He's from Pennsylvania (Scotland Performance Institute in Scotland, PA so unofficial visits to the PA schools could easily happen, meaning Baylor and Iowa State might get the last official visit. From what I'm hearing, Dembele is unlikely to commit until he has taken all of his visits, but I've heardwith the ball rolling the visits should be happening and wrapped up by the end of May, so we'd likely hear a decision by then. Though I'm not sure MIzzou will wait.

EDIT: Thanks to user thejessebishop for linking to this interview with Dembele

Gordon could commit on his visit, and the trends on the Crystal Ball would certainly support that idea:

Mizzou still trails Seton Hall, but have the last three picks, and four of the last six. Gordon has been on and off their radar for a while because they haven't been sure of the interest on the other side, and it looks like Gordon is serious about making a decision now, so they're bringing him in with a top three of Mizzou, Seton Hall and Marquette. Marquette doesn't look like they have scholarships available, and Seton Hall has a few other pots on the fire, so Mizzou could be the team to beat.

Corprew is the last guy that's been around forever, but from what I'm hearing, there are some academic issues he needs to clear up before taking his visits. So officials may not take place until this summer, with a commitment even beyond that. So June-July timeframe for Corprew is possible, which means Mizzou may no longer be on the market for a guard by that point. We'll remind you of the latest updated scholarship graphic:

Mizzou is still unclear on the NCAA and the sanctions, they feel confident there will be no further penalties handed down. They still need to figure out if they're going to take a scholarship hit this season or next, but with Gant transferring out it likely means that the Tigers will take the hit this upcoming season so they'll have more room to play with next season with Michael Porter, Jr still on the table. I've been told that the coaches want to see the Porter situation play out and want to make sure they have the space to take him without forcing anyone out.

You never know how things will change in recruiting, and they change quickly. If both Gordon and Dembele wanted to commit, I'd imagine the coaches would have a hard time turning them both down considering the talent needs of the roster. I believe their top priority is Dembele, because they view him as a guy with an enormous ceiling who has gotten exponentially better in the short time he's been in the US. Dembele is about the only quality big left who Mizzou can land, so if they can't land him they'll take a guard and be done. Coaches are hopeful to get a commitment on campus, but the read is that it isn't likely.

The roster breakdown looks like this right now:

Mizzou Roster Breakdown 2016-17
Senior Junior Sophomore Freshmen 2017 recruiting
P O I N T    G U A R D
Jimmy Barton Terrence Phillips
Priority
C O M B O    G U A R D
Jordan Geist Frankie Hughes
W I N G
Trevor Glassman Cullen VanLeer
Priority
K.J. Walton

C O M B O    F O R W A R D
Jordan Barnett Adam Wolf Willie Jackson
P O S T
Russell Woods
Kevin Puryear Reed Nikko Priority

Mitchell Smith

As usual, I'm keeping the recruiting hot board updated, so check it out semi-regularly:

Mizzou Recruiting Hot Board