Recruiting Roundup: Missouri 2018 hoops recruiting class
Missouri's 2018 basketball recruiting class was originally expected to only consist of three available scholarships, but after the departures of freshmen point guards Blake Harris and C.J. Roberts, as well as junior guard Terrence Phillips' indefinite suspension, the Tigers could end up with as many as six new players on next year's roster coming from this class.
Missouri signed three players — Torrence Watson, Javon Pickett and K.J. Santos — in the early signing period, and the Tigers have targeted a couple more for the late period. Here's a look at how they've fared this season and how their recruitment is shaping up.
2018 SIGNEES
Watson, who originally committed to Ohio State before decommitting in July and signing with Missouri in November, has been a scoring tear this season, averaging 30 points per game for the Whitfield School. The Warriors (14-6) are currently ranked No. 2 in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 3 poll. Watson has notched two 40-plus point performances already this year, scoring a career-high 50 in a Dec. 11 win against Lift for Life and 45 against Class 5 Pattonville this past week.
Santos, who also signed with Missouri in November, is sitting out this season at Tallahassee Community College, so he's eligible for three full seasons at Missouri. As a freshman at Illinois-Chicago last year, Santos averaged 7.1 points and 4.2 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game.
After receiving a release from his letter of intent to play at Illinois last spring, Pickett opted to reclassify to the 2018 class to give himself another year of recruitment. He ended up at Sunrise Christian Academy, one of the top post-graduate prep schools in the country, and he was expected to play a big role for the Buffaloes this year. But Pickett injured his shoulder during the preseason and chose to move home to Belleville, Illinois, to begin the rehabilitation process. Pickett expects to be cleared in advance of his arrival at Missouri this summer.
Pickett averaged 25.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game last season at Belleville East.
2018 TARGETS
Pinson has become Mizzou's highest-priority prep point guard recruit in the 2018 class, and he's also picked up offers from SLU, Georgetown and Dayton. Pinson's Simeon team, winners of six state titles and a second-place finish from 2006 to 2013, is currently the top-ranked team in Illinois and occupies the No. 12 spot on MaxPreps' Xcellent 25 national rankings.
After playing his first three seasons of prep ball at St. Patrick on Chicago's north side, Pinson chose to transfer to Simeon, where he's currently averaging 11.3 points per game for the Wolverines. He tweeted last night that he plans to visit Missouri this weekend for the Kentucky game and will announce his commitment Feb. 22.
Williams doesn't hold an offer from Missouri yet, but assistant coach Cornell Mann has been courting him for about three weeks now. Coming out of Episcopal High in Houston, Williams had just one offer: Division II Cameron University. He opted instead to go the junior college route, and it has paid off. Williams recently picked up his first two Division I offers from Utah Valley and Nicholls State. Utah, Oregon, Iowa and Middle Tennessee State recently visited him, and Baylor and San Diego State have also expressed serious interest.
Williams has been a stat sheet stuffer this season, averaging 14.7 points, 8.5 assists and 6.5 rebounds for the undefeated Pronghorns, currently ranked No. 6 in the NJCAA national poll.