2016 basketball class to grow by two, possibly three
With the departures of Wes Clark, D'Angelo Allen, Namon Wright and Tramaine Isabell the Missouri basketball team has three scholarships available for the 2016-17 season.
The Tigers could use all of the available scholarships if the coaches are able to land commitments from three players they think can help the team win immediately. If not, they are likely to add only two and take the self imposed scholarship reduction next season.
Kim Anderson said during his season wrap-up press conference that the team is looking for a combo guard and a post at minimum.
"If it was a perfect world you'd want to add a point guard or a combo guard and maybe a guy who can score and maybe a big guy. If the perfect world comes up. Now whether that will happen or not I don't know," explained Anderson.
"I'm encouraged by who we're involved with. I'm encouraged by some of the young men who have committed to come visit," he continued. "I think the one thing we can really sell to them is the opportunity to come in and contribute immediately. Hopefully we'll be able to sign some guys that will help us win next year."
The first visitor is in Columbia currently. FC Barcelona forward Eric Vila arrived at Mizzou yesterday and leaves tomorrow to visit Wake Forest. He also visited Texas A&M earlier in the week.
Vila is labeled as a power forward in some evaluations. On film, though, he appears more comfortable on the perimeter. His outside shot looks pure in highlights, but 'Is he big enough to guard a post?' or 'Is he athletic enough to play on the wing full-time?' are valid questions.
Other prospects Mizzou is targeting and could visit soon are DeShawn Corprew, Cheickna Dembele, Frankie Hughes, Kyran Bowman, Tyson Jolly and C.J. Jackson.
At this point Mizzou seems to be in the best shape with Frankie Hughes. That is largely due to the relationship that assistant coach Rob Fulford has built with the Garfield Heights program while recruiting Missouri signee Willie Jackson.
Hughes was just recently released from his NLI by Louisville and will be a hot commodity. The main competition for the three-star combo guard could come from Wisconsin. With nearly 2o offers, though, there is sure to be several other schools pushing hard for Hughes.
Dembele is also another recruit that Mizzou is in good shape with. Assistant coach Steve Shields has done an admirable job of building a relationship with Dembele and his head coach at Scotland Performance Institute.
Kim Anderson made a visit recently with Shields to see Dembele and made it very clear to the 6-foot-10, 235-pound center that he was a priority target for the Tigers. Dembele is garnering attention from Iowa State, Syracuse, Temple, West Virginia, St. Joseph and Baylor as well so a commitment isn't going to be gifted to the Tigers.
DeShawn Corprew is the other big name that Mizzou fans have heard a lot recently. The four-star guard from North Carolina released a final three of Missouri, Kansas and Texas A&M not long ago.
Right now Corprew doesn't have a committable offer from Kansas as they continue to pursue Josh Jackson and Terrance Ferguson. If the Jayhawks land either they won't take Corprew.
Fulford has been recruiting Corprew for Missouri and has built a strong relationship with the talented prospect. That and the opportunity to step on campus and be one of the top scoring options are what Mizzou is pitching.
Hughes, Corprew and Dembele have kind of separated themselves as top targets, but Vila, Bowman, Jolly and Jackson are also very much on Mizzou's radar.
Bowman has a visit coming up to Boston College. He is also being recruited by South Carolina, Cal, Memphis and Cincinnati in addition to Missouri.
Jolly received his release from Cal very recently. Rivals.com national recruiting anlayst Eric Bossi expects Jolly to hear from Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Texas, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Cincinnati and Oklahoma State in addition to Mizzou.
Jackson is hearing from Auburn, New Mexico and UConn in addition to Mizzou. He has an official visit scheduled with Connecticut.
Eron Gordon and Kavell Bigby-Williams were Missouri targets for a while, but neither are viable options anymore PowerMizzou.com has been told.
The perfect world Anderson referred to would almost undoubtedly feature a class of Frankie Hughes, DeShawn Corprew and Cheickna Dembele. It sounds like Mizzou would be comfortable with any two of Hughes, Corprew, Jolly, Bowman or Jackson in the end though.
Post options seem limited right now, but more could emerge at anytime. Keep checking PowerMizzou.com for all latest information.