(Photo Credit: Associated Press)
There’s never a dull moment covering Mizzou athletics. This was again the case Friday when four-star shooting guard Namon Wright recommitted to play basketball at the University of Missouri for the upcoming season.
Wright, who had originally committed to Missouri, was granted permission by the university to talk to other schools earlier this week. After the decision by Frank Haith to jump ship for Tulsa I completely understand both Wright and fellow recruit Jakeenan Gant wanting to look elsewhere to play collegiate ball.
Give credit to Kim Anderson for persuading these two guys to stay, because this is only the beginning of what will be a long rebuilding process moving forward. Anderson certainly has his plate full with a program that is in disarray and having these two solid recruits can hopefully be a foundation to build upon.
Anderson also deserves credit for keeping assistant coach Tim Fuller on his staff. Fuller was a crucial part of the recruiting process for both Wright and Gant and could continue to help in that department moving forward. People question Anderson’s ability to recruit at the division I level and he answered the critics by keeping Fuller on staff.
Moving forward with Anderson at the helm should potentially help keep more of the high-powered talent out of Missouri high schools in state. One advantage Anderson has that none of the three coaches who succeeded him have is the fact he’s from Missouri. His relationships with the high school coaches in Missouri could have a huge impact on the decisions of elite athletes like Bradley Beal or Ben McLemore.
With the re-commitment from Wright the Tigers now have two scholarship spots to fill after dismissing forward Zach Price last month. One of those scholarships had originally been intended for Kevin Punter out of Sedalia, but he chose to commit to Tennessee instead.
With the two scholarships left to fill the Tigers are reportedly targeting Shelton Mitchell and Ahmaad Rorie, who are both top 150 rated shooting guards for the 2014 recruiting class. Missouri will host Mitchell on a visit this weekend and then he will reportedly choose either Vanderbilt or Missouri in the coming week.
It is also worth noting that sophomore guard Shane Rector, who saw little time in just 23 games this past season, has decided to transfer. It’s evident with Wright coming in and Wes Clark already slated as the teams starting point guard Rector would see less time than he would like on the court.
