Parker Braun has seen his recruitment take off this spring. The 6-foot-8 forward (Blue Valley Northwest/MoKan) has added offers from Arizona, Illinois, LSU, Ole Miss and Nebraska. But in the end, the pull of following family tradition was too strong.
Braun has committed to Missouri as a preferred walk-on for 2018. Braun’s mother, Lisa Sandbothe, is a former Miss Show-Me basketball winner and played for the Tigers from 1988-91. Lori and Mike Sandbothe, Braun’s aunt and uncle also played hoops for the Tigers.
“We were really surprised. He had a lot of great offers.” Lisa Braun said. “He is a family oriented guy and didn’t want to be far from home. He’s like ‘I want to go to Missouri.’”
The decision came after visits to Illinois and Nebraska and interest from Vanderbilt and Ohio State. Missouri has told Braun he will go on scholarship after one year as a walk on.
“I made that choice too. I had a lot of great offers and I chose family,” Lisa Braun said. “(Missouri) kind of got an amazing deal.”
Rivals.com analyst Eric Bossi wrote recently: “Braun has good size, is a good athlete and has an expanding skill set and range as a jump shooter. He plays hard and he has won big on the high school level -- two time state champ at Blue Valley Northwest -- while also playing for one of top summer teams in MoKan Elite. He does need to add strength and continue to build on his overall skill level, but his biggest asset right now is is energy and activity. Schools feel like he can come in and play some minutes early because of that energy and that they can develop him into a reliable upperclassman.”
The news comes one day after Jontay Porter announced he would return to Mizzou for his sophomore season. The timing of Braun’s decision was more than coincidence.
“Jontay and Jeremiah (Tilmon) has been talking to him. He really wanted to play with Jontay,” Lisa Braun said. “Coach Porter, we are tight with him. He is our buddy through MoKan.”
Porter’s return put the Tigers at a full slate of 13 scholarship players. If room were to become available for this ear the Tigers are targeting a guard rather than a frontcourt player and Braun is a stretch four. Butadding a player of Braun’s caliber as a walk-on is a major coup for Cuonzo Martin’s staff and gives the Tigers additional quality depth for the 2018-19 season.
“I’m really happy personally,” Braun’s mom said. “And my brother, Mike, is elated.”
