Recruiting Update...DaShonte Riley

After his official visit to Marquette on 2/25, word was that DaShonte Riley would make his college decision by the end of the following week. It appears now that he has stuck to that plan. As first reported by Syracuse.com and now confirmed by Jim Ganzer over at the Sports Bubbler, Riley has made his decision and will be playing for the Syracuse Orange next year.

Riley had been recruited by Buzz Williams since he chose not to sign with Georgetown during the fall period. Ranked in the top 100 by most recruiting services, Riley had seen his stock drop as of late, including falling completely out of the Rivals.com Top 100. He received interest from schools such as Marquette, Syracuse, Cal, LSU and Virginia when he reopened his recruiting last fall, before declaring that he would choose between MU and Syracuse nearly two weeks ago.

So where does this leave Marquette? We all know that MU is out of scholarships for the 2009 class and would have been over the limit had Riley committed. We also know that Buzz Williams is still actively recruiting players in the class of 2009. Time will tell whether any of those players, or perhaps players we haven't heard about yet chose to come to MU. All we can guarantee at this point is that it will be an interesting few weeks leading up to the April signing period.

Stay tuned for a comprehensive recruiting update on the Class of 2009 and beyond in the coming weeks.

A New 2009 Name...MU among final two schools

With the recent commitment of Monterale Clark, the focus for MU fans may have shifted a bit towards the recruiting Class of 2010, but that doesn't mean Buzz Williams and his staff have shifted their focus from the Class of 2009.

We all know the names at this point: Dashonte Riley, Sherrod Wright, Jeremy Adams, Darius Smith, Victor Rudd, Latavious Williams and of course Jamil Wilson. Now it's time to throw a new name into the mix, because according to The Roanoke Times Marquette is in the final two for Glenn Bryant.

Who is Glenn Bryant and why haven't we heard of him before, you ask? Good Question. The shorter answer is, he's an athletic 6'8", 200 lb Combo Forward known mostly for his highlight real dunks. At this point, we know he great leaping ability and is a good rebounder, but the rest of his game is still a work in progress. ESPN did a nice review a month ago, but there's more to this story than just his leaping ability and shooting stroke.

Bryant is originally from the Detroit area, and through his sophomore year, he wasn't getting much high major love. Michigan State and Syracuse were showing some interest but hadn't offered him a scholarship. In an effort to get more exposure and increase his chances of going to a high major program, Bryant transferred to famed Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. The move worked, and prior to his senior year he picked up offers from programs like Memphis, Syracuse, Michigan, Arizona and Xavier. Additionally, according to ESPN he was receiving interest from Kansas, Texas, and North Carolina.

When MU became involved with him is a bit of a guess, but it's an educated one. Bryant and his Oak Hill teammates were in Milwaukee this past December for the Converse/Eastbay Classic at the Al McGuire Center, and members of the MU staff were seen in attendance at his game. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the recruiting really took off at that time, given that MU is in his final two schools not even two months later.

At this point, we don't know if MU is the leader for Bryant or how close he is to a decision. What we do know is that Buzz and his staff are still tirelessly recruiting the Class of 2009, and we can say for sure that the rest of the year is going to be interesting both on and off the court.

P.S. Thanks to Cracked Sidewalks for the invite.