In-state forward Brazile commits to Mizzou
After picking up a Missouri scholarship offer, it didn't take long for Springfield native Trevon Brazile to decide he wanted to be a Tiger. Less than four hours, in fact. The Parkview high product committed to Missouri Tuesday evening, becoming the team's fourth pledge in the 2021 class.
The decision wasn't quite as out-of-nowhere for Brazile, who said he's been hearing from head coach Cuonzo Martin and the Missouri staff for about two weeks. He said the school appeals to him because of its family atmosphere and proximity to home.
"I’ve always wanted to go somewhere close to home that’s like a family," Brazile said. "When they offered me I just felt that was the best choice so I committed."
Brazile is the second player from Springfield to commit to the Tigers in this recruiting cycle. Kickapoo point guard Anton Brookshire did so in May. Brazile said Brookshire played a role in making his commitment happen. Even though Brazile recently moved to the Springfield area, he and Brookshire have long been friends, and it was actually Brookshire who first told Brazile Missouri had Its eye on him.
"We talk pretty much every day," Brazile said of Brookshire. "He called me and told me Mizzou was interested. He told coach Cuonzo that I would fit in good there."
Entering Tuesday, Brazile had just two Division I offers — from Montana State and Cleveland State. But even before Missouri officially offered, he began to turn heads at last weekend's Crossroads Elite Invitational AAU tournament in Kansas. Rivals national recruiting analyst Eric Bossi watched Brazile at the tournament and wrote that he "has all the signs of a classic late-bloomer" and is "on the verge of a major breakthrough."
“I was able to get a look at Trevon Brazile at the Crossroads Elite Invitational camp a few weeks ago and he immediately caught my attention," Bossi wrote in an email to PowerMizzou. "He has outstanding length, good quickness and is a bouncy athlete with good instincts. Upon doing some background on him I was surprised to see how lightly recruited he was.
“Now, he’s got to get stronger and has some mechanical things to work on with his jump shot. But, the raw tools are all there and watching him a few more times over the weekend all I kept thinking was that he checks all of the boxes of a classic late bloomer and one of those guys who a few years down the road people ask “Why wasn’t he more heavily recruited?
"“In today’s game I could see him playing both the three and the four and I think he’d benefit tremendously from either a year of prep school or a redshirt. Long term, though, if he wants put in the work the raw tools to develop into a pretty good player are all there.”
Brazile said Missouri sees him playing at the small forward spot. As s typical in Martin recruits, the strongest aspect of his game is his defense.
"They told me they see me playing the three," he said. "They like how I play defense, I can alter shots around the rim. I feel like my best thing is altering shots and blocking shots. I need to work on my midrange game a little bit."
There had been some rumors that Brazile might reclassify to the class of 2022 and enroll in a prep school to boost his recruiting stock, but he's now expected to enroll at Missouri with the 2021 class. A redshirt year is not out of the question, however. He joins a crowded crop of wings in the Tigers' signing class. Sean Durugordon projects as an off-ball perimeter player as well, and Kaleb Brown could end up there as well.
Still, Martin and his staff clearly saw enough upside in Brazile to offer him a spot. Around 4 p.m. Tuesday, Brazile tweeted that he had received an offer from the state school. Before 8, he was a Tiger.