Say what you will about Coach Wojo, but he did sign the first back to back top 25 recruiting classes for Marquette in more than a decade. Last year's class of Dawson Garcia, Justin Lewis, Oso Ighodaro and transfers DJ Carton and Jose Perez ranked 21st in the country and first in the Big East. His 2020 class featuring Stevie Mitchell, Kameron Jones and Jonas Aidoo was ranked 20th nationally. Those young men were expected to be on campus this Summer.
New coach Shaka Smart will have to decide what members of this team, including the recruiting class, fit his style. Can he convince them to stay or will they enter the transfer portal as Koby McEwen and Jamal Cain did earlier today. Important to note that placing your name in the transfer portal does not mean a transfer will happen.
Smart offered Garcia a scholarship to Texas prior to Garcia choosing to attend Marquette. Smart has had a number of Longhorn players enter the portal in the past few days. Could any of them be possible players for Marquette? Smart also signed David Joplin from Brookfield Central to play in Austin starting this Fall. Joplin is a 4* PF that might follow his coach to Milwaukee.
Smart's ability to get off to a good start may hinge on his capacity to keep a talented core players at Marquette this upcoming season. Below are some social media reactions from Marquette players today at the announcement of Smart becoming the 18th men's basketball coach in MU history.