Wichita State is already making recruiting moves as a member of the American Athletic Conference
This week put National Signing Day in the rear view mirror as schools around the country were finally able to ink recruits who were verbally committed to National Letters of Intent. For the most part, the signing day ceremonies were theatrical and uneventful, but in one case — see below — we got an interesting look at how recruits might handle schools involved in the FBI investigation.
Here’s a quick run down of the biggest non-signing day college basketball recruiting stories of the week.
Brandon Williams signs financial aid agreement with Arizona
Point guard prospect Brandon Williams gave us some insight into how high school players may handle commitments to schools impacted by the FBI investigation this week as he agreed to sign non-binding scholarship papers with Arizona rather than the traditional, but binding National Letter of Intent. Williams remains committed to the Wildcats, but this way he has an out should things go south for the program as the FBI’s probe continues to unfold.
Williams willingness to remain committed to Arizona is a rarity among recruits considering the schools involved as we’ve largely seen high school players simply avoid the schools altogether. Certainly the Wildcats would rather have received something binding on signing day, but it’ll be interesting to see if head coach Sean Miller uses non-binding scholarship papers in the future as a way to assuage concerns from other potential recruits.
Alex Lomax commits to Wichita State
Gregg Marshall must feel awfully good after swooping into enemy territory to snag a prized recruit. 3-star point guard Alex Lomax committed to the Shockers on Wednesday night. Lomax is from Memphis and was a top priority for Tubby Smith’s Tigers in the 2018 class. While the point guard noted “Memphis didn’t do anything wrong,” Lomax’s decision to head to Wichita is certainly a blow.
For the Shockers, snagging a commitment from a new conference rival could help signal some of the recruiting good will the team is hoping to gain from joining the American.
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Keldon Johnson will decide on Saturday
5-star shooting guard Keldon Johnson is set to make his college announcement on Saturday. The 6-foot-6 prospect is considering Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina State and Texas. He has officially visited all four schools, although the race seems to be down to Big Blue Nation and the Longhorns.
Darius Garland is close to announcing
Another 5-star prospect is closing in on an announcement. Point guard Darius Garland’s father told 247Sports that Garland is ready to make his decision, but they still need to work out the details of the actual announcement. Garland is considering Indiana, Kentucky, UCLA and Vanderbilt with the Commodores picked as the favorite to land him.