Everything you need to know about M.J. Walker is in the mega-thread.
Recruiting update: M.J. Walker tells ESPN that he will make his college decision tomorrow at Jonesboro HS in the... https://t.co/FEixd7O1wN— Paul Biancardi (@PaulBiancardi) May 23, 2017
Recruiting update: M.J. Walker tells ESPN that he will make his college decision tomorrow at Jonesboro HS in the gymnasium at 11am. His final list of schools are Florida State, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, UCLA and Virginia Tech. Walker sits at no.25 in the final ESPN player rankings for 2017.
The latest from Walker's head coach Dan Maehlman.
Hopefully, it'll be this week," Maehlman said.
To the best of his knowledge, Maehlman said the five schools are all still in contention for Walker, the athletic, soft-shooting guard rated the No. 25 senior nationally by ESPN.
"I'm guessing he's struggling over the decision," Maehlman said.
Asked if he had a hunch, Maehlman said that he didn't see any cons with any of the five, except for geography with Ohio State and UCLA and weather with Ohio State. But that's his own interpretation.
Comments
OH BOY! OH BOY! OH BOY!
Time to make sure I am wearing a pair of Nike's tomorrow.
Wait a second - I own Adidas running shoes. Does this mean MJ Walker is going to UCLA?
EDIT: And now I see that I am about a year behind. Didn't realize UCLA was switching to Under Armour this year.
Its worth mentioning there is current momentum toward UCLA on 247 today with 2 of their site experts flipping CBs from VT to UCLA shortly after the decision date and time were announced.
We should all do our part and tweet at MJ Walker until he admits he's coming to VT
Send in the secret weapon
Crap...
3rd CB to go from VT to UCLA
For those who want to know who to trust in CBs and not, Andrew Slater is a legit source and the last two are likely just switching because he did. People to keep an eye on Jerry Meyer and Chris Arvin, although Arvin (from the free side of the 247) is saying he is still hearing VT from some sources so he might not switch his.
Get out of here with that optimistic nonsense.
there goes Meyer
Yeah i was holding out hope, but with Meyer it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that MJ is headed out to UCLA.
That should do it.
Time to move on to the backup plans.
Aaaaaaaand there goes Arvin as well.
Juwan Durham, come on down....
From a post of his on the 247 site
In other words, its over. Walker is going to UCLA and has made it known to his inner circle.
i can't handle this
I hope it works out for us.
I normally wouldn't mind losing a bball recruit to UCLA, but the Ball family will be there for the next 5+ years??? Stay away!
Maybe he wants to be a Big Baller?
Good point. Question: do you think the Ball saga has negatively impacted UCLA recruiting in any substantial way, or has the opposite occurred? I'm just curious if players shy away from or are drawn to this type of attention? I, for one, wouldn't care to participate in such an environment.
I don't think there's a catch-all answer to that. Each recruit likely feels a different way about it. Personally, I'm with you, I would not want to play in that kind of spotlight, but I'm also not a 16-18 year old allstar basketball player.
Well, in MJ's situation, I think they pursued him because one of their guards was declaring for the draft, so they wouldn't have to play LiAngelo Ball right away as he is just as marginal player and probably not good enough for the Pac 12. So it could be interesting if MJ goes there and has a bad game, what Lavar might spew about he shouldn't be playing over his son.
As for your question, UCLA has an elite class this year already, doesn't seem like Ball is having too much of a negative impact.... but that could change with LiAngelo likely not getting much playing time next year. I could easily see Lavar complaining about that and that could potentially scare some people away.
I would guess it's a wash, but I have no idea. It would definitely affect my decision. Especially since Lavar called out his son's teammates after the tournament loss. Just seems like a distraction/headache I wouldn't want to deal with.
I guess it's important to note, that middle son isn't that highly rated (high 3*) and if MJ is only there for a 2 years he wouldn't even play with the youngest son (5*) if I have the classes correct.
You're correct. LaMelo is the 5 Star, #1 PG in the Class of 2019. I can imagine a lot of talent lining up to play with him. Especially if by then Lonzo has had himself a solid 1st two years in the NBA.
Not good fellas.
Can we get Bill Roth to talk to MJ and explain Tech >>> UCLA?
"Asked if he had a hunch, Maehlman said that he didn't see any cons with any of the five, except for geography with Ohio State and UCLA and weather with Ohio State. But that's his own interpretation."
Wait, weather is factoring into his decision? We're so screwed.
nab brah anyone who loves weather loves the insanity that is blacksburg va. plus noreasters are some of the best snowstorms on Earth
Ready for a let down
But hoping for a surprise.
I got both!
Soooo now the question is do we need a transfer or do we hold onto the open scholarship for next years class?
We're well positioned to bring in transfer Juwan Durham from UConn. He'd have to sit out a year, but would have 3 seasons of eligibility left starting in 2018-2019. He's set to visit campus this weekend.
We also put out an offer for Miles Wilson, a transfer from Mount St. Mary's, and we're decently positioned here as well. He had listed a Final 2 of Miami and Auburn, but reopened his recruitment after he received his offer from Buzz.
Either player would be a great add for the program. Not the exclamation point that a McD's A-A would be, but few are.
Hold it open/give it to the walk-ons this year. After Buzz and Co. make it to the sweet 16 this year it will allow Buzz to build up depth with the momentum.
Well there goes all hope I had left
and all of a sudden its 53% UCLA, 20% Good guys.
Now all of a sudden this shoe talk doesn't seem as funny/crazy to me. He's going to wind up with another underarmour school.. hmmm
Or he liked UCLA better?
I like my reasoning more. It makes it seem like we had no chance and therefore I wont cry myself to sleep at night.
All jokes aside, they have an amazing recruiting class and with their old SG staying in the draft he has a direct route to a 1-and-done season and the chance to live in LA. I don't blame the kid, but that doesn't mean this doesn't hurt.
Maybe he's just trolling them, right? He's told all his inner circle its UCLA, when tomorrow comes he busts out that VT hat..right? maybe?
I think it's fair to say that we don't expect much out of tomorrow morning.
While this is disappointing, I think it's smart to take a step back and look at what our recruiting class is already for the upcoming year and realize that we'll be completely fine. Throw in the possibility of Durham and I am okay with Walker going to UCLA. UCLA is a completely different beast when it comes to college basketball, and given that, I'm not upset about losing Walker to them. If MJ had chosen Georgia Tech or Maryland, I would've been more upset because there isn't as big of a gap between Virginia Tech and those schools as there is between Virginia Tech and UCLA.
The fact that a McDonalds All-American is choosing between UCLA and us tomorrow morning should be something taken into consideration before freaking out when he chooses to go to Westwood.
S#!& Happens..
Guard Aaron Holiday has unexpectedly decided to return to UCLA. Not sure if that plays a role in MJ's decision, but I guess we'll see.
With Holliday deciding to return, I think this could swing right back towards the Hokies.
Hmm...
This isn't an emotional rollercoaster. It's an emotional elevator.
One could say an emotional Tower of Terror
What's their scholarship situation now?
They would still have a scholarship available for him, but he would have to fight for playing time
Crap I was hoping they'd be out of scholarships with him returning is this guy a star SG too?
Welsh just withdrew from NBA draft consideration as well. That's 2 players who declared who are now coming back.
How does their roster shape up for 2017? They already have 2 signees and 4 additional commits for 2017 class...
They still have one scholly open after that, and bruins fans are saying that they are little thin on 2 position - which is where walker plays.
I don't think they know what "a little thin" means.
Isn't tomorrow the deadline on NBA early entrants declaring their decision to return to school? Seems this situation may have been exactly what he was waiting for...
Don't look too much into the Holiday news... The guys on VTScoop are saying their #sauces have Walker to UCLA even with Holiday coming back.
Arvin also said that it isn't over yet with this news. So who really knows.
We'll find out in 17.5 hours.
What? No, I'm not counting down. Definitely not. No sir.
sure would be nice to finally win one of these huge recruiting battles, maybe buzz pulls a jimbo and gets him in the middle of the night.
No... that was Jim harbaugh.
One thing to remember, since the window to sign has passed there wont be anything binding him to his announced decision until he registers and attends classes. This recruiting battle could continue until then behind the scenes.
It's a dead period right now so the only way that Buzz can recruit MJ any more than he already as is if MJ initiates the contact.
Maybe we get to be Iowa State for once...
Me refusing to accept the (likely) obvious outcome... #optimism
FWIW this UCLA forum participant is hearing its between UCLA & GT..
BRUINZONE
I believe his #sauce might have been Jim Harbaugh.
Show me the money
Per the guys at 247 UCLA sealed the deal with their OV when they were able to show they could give him early PT as well as a clear and proven path to the NBA. Even with Holiday coming back, their ability to get kids to the next level swayed him to Westwood.
Let's all take a deep breath, today is a big day
Landing him would have been awesome.
I think the fact that we were in the running for a top recruit shows how far the program has come in just a couple of years. We still have a very good class and hopefully we'll get a couple of blue chip prospects in the coming years.
Edit: NSFWish Was hoping this would be a good day now I just feel like charles vane at the gallows
Damn, I had accepted the fact we were out, then these two guys come back to UCLA, and although I still feel like we're out, the slightest glimmer of hope has reignited.
I'm disappointed he's likely not coming here, but I'm not discouraged. Even before he considered us, we had (and still have) a Top 20 recruiting class. Not only is it a Top 20 recruiting class, but its one with only 3 commits, which speaks to the seriously high end talent we're already bringing in, that we're adding to a relatively young roster that made the tournament last year on a 7 man rotation with arguably some of its better players redshirting the season. Getting Walker would be awesome in the sense that it would send the same kind of shockwaves through the basketball community in recruiting that hiring Buzz did for coaching, but that doesn't mean we're not still getting better. Its just going to be a bit slower of a build than it could have been.
That being said, assuming Walker does declare to UCLA, which... I mean come on, they have a more history in their basketball program than we have in our athletic department as a whole, I seriously can't blame anyone for wanting to go there... our recruiting season is far from over.
We are hosting Juwan Durham over the weekend, and he's already said he should be announcing sometime early next week. He's a 6'11 PF transfer from UConn who was the 51st overall recruit in the Class of '16 who didn't get to play much last year due to injury. He would have 3 years of eligibility remaining after a RS transfer year, and would help bring elite skill to go with a tall frame to a program needing both, especially at his position.
If Durham passes, we're also in the hunt for Miles Wilson, a 6'5 190 lb SG transfer from Mount St. Mary's who averaged 12 points a game in his freshman campaign with the Mountaineers and would also have 3 years of eligibility after his RS transfer year.
So when can I expect a Juwan Durham Central thread to discuss his shoe preference to begin?
From what I can tell, Tampa Prep AND UConn are both Nike schools.
IT'S A DONE DEAL, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
UA in high school:
Most recently converted to Nike in college:
Phew, we look to be in the clear
These look like Nikes to me. Maybe he had a shoe identity crisis at some point during his senior year. Either way, thankfully, he's obviously a die-hard Nike fan now.
Definitely UA his Senior Year
Didn't embed because the image is 2139 x 3000 px
nerdsplaining moment:
if you add width=400 between the " and / in the image tag (with a space between them and the addition) the image scales to 400 pixels wide and however tall it takes to keep the ratio correct.
If our end result is a 6'11" big man who was a top 50ish player, I am cool with that. It will help spread out some scholarships too.
There is some slight hope that a returning player may be a factor but, I am not expecting much although some folks have gut feelings it'll make a difference
Either way baby, in Buzz we trust!
So, if Walker does end up at UCLA, that is when we start the "Buzz can't recruit" threads, right? /s
I dunno about that, but if you want to see some fireworks, head over to 247. Some have already been telling Chris Arvin to leave and never come back for "getting this wrong"
@lstricksports on Twitter will be periscoping the announcement, if you want to watch.
How's the hat arrangement looking?
nothing there but different shoe brands..
"I'd like to announce that I am choosing the University of Nike, sorry everybody else"
better not be a big baller brand shoe there
VT is in the middle of 5 schools, UCLA is to the left in second. GT is first in the row
FSU and GT are on the wings clearly out of it. VT is dead center between UCLA and Ohio State, I think we've got this locked up.
MUST NOT GET MY HOPES UP NO NO NO NO
Idk he's right-handed and that's where GT is so I think it's a done deal he's a Yellow Jacket
LOL he ended the live stream
Running a little behind apparently.
Standardized tests, they'll get after ya
Time to pull the surprise
Just changed the order. Now its UCLA and OSU in the middle VT at the far end.
Edit: Nevermind they changed it to UCLA VT OSU in the middle
y u do dis
Cause I let the excitement and thrill of this get the best of me. Either way this was fun.
YouTube livestream.
FSU in the middle of the grpahic tho. Must've talked to Jimbo last night.
Edit: It changed. nevermind.
he seems to be there now, stepping up to the table.
Removed: Henry already posted the link just before I hit submit.
Here we go, ladies and gents.
VT in the middle....time to get trolled
The only question is if he hovers his hand over VT before selecting UCLA
100% will happen.
Florida State?
What the fuck?
um....what?
Florida State?!?!?
What the fuck
uggh. and the fucking tomahawk chop too.
LOL WHAT
ummmm. what? FSU? eww.
Would have much preferred UCLA if it wasn't us, this is totally out of left field
via GIPHY
Florida State?
Bruh. I'm still waiting on him to take off the FSU shirt and reveal another one...
Woah. Did not expect that one. Thought I was watching Magic Mike for a second.
Wow, FSU. Amazing to me that people get paid to guesstimate where college players will go. Wrong, just like the weather guys!
at least at UCLA we wouldn't have to play against him until buzz gets us to a natty.
at least at FSU, Buzz can beat his ass on his way to a natty
Kroll Show FT-MFn-W
WTF!?!?!?
He's gonna feel so weird when Va Tech wins the ACC next year
It's bad enough that we didn't get him, but now we have to play against him?
Now that he's declared to FSU, its clear he played us big, and we were never really in it.
Well that didn't take long...
not sure if /s or...
lol just a little /s, to put it mildly.
I am curious who was leaking info to get CBs to move. 247 does appear to have been trolled HARD with his recruitment. They had EVERYONE fooled
Didn't see that coming but, heard distance may have been an issue.
This whole thing was a giant troll job
All I could make out was two words when he turned, and a darker colored shirt...got excited for a minute, then it came into focus...ugh...now we get to play against him
you're not alone...I was right there with you, buddy. We lost out to a school close to home and in the ACC. I consider that the lesser of evils at the end of the day. I never fault a kid for wanting to play closer to friends and family.
I thought when you announced a commitment to FSU, you had to drive in a Lambo, so I refuse to believe he actually committed there.
Speculating here.... but is it possible that he was intending to go to UCLA until the announcement of two returning players from the draft. Maybe he came back to Buzz and said ok, Im in and Buzz said we've moved on. I get you dont move on from an all American, but nobody likes to be second.
On mobile so leg to whoever posts the Leonard Hamilton smiling picture
You mean this one?
If i was a top recruit I'd do something similar to MJ and have those red robes and hats on and before committing be like NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH IQUISITION then pick the good guys of course
When you get yet another 5 star recruit, but still don't know how to coach them.
That was my very first thought, "cant wait to see hamilton waste another top talent!"
My first thought was that of all the schools on the table I would have put FSU last. At least GT is on the rise a bit and in state whereas Hamilton can't coach. He is a pretty great recruiter though.
Only thing I can figure is FSU is a little closer to GA, and maybe between being closer to family combined with FSUs recent ACC play, it would be a better choice for him.
I still have faith in buzz, and will have one more thing to look forward to when we play FSU next year
In a few weeks they'll put their second guard in as many years into the first round of the NBA draft. Let's stop acting like FSU hasn't been a very good program recently.
putting people in the league doesn't make you a good program.....
Same here. I feel a little bad for the kid, suckered into FSU where he will be wasted.
At least it's not binding, Buzz can keep working his magic, maybe
Also, we've clearly established he's a Nike guy now. So that's half the battle, really
Back to Wiggins gifs it is...
I know it's disappointing, but I find it pretty hilarious how inaccurate all those crystal balls were.
Those boats and hos will get after ya.
I see you haven't been to Tallahassee, well, ever.
He's only half wrong.
Time to go all-in on Durham this weekend. He's not a McD's, but he would fill a huge need at a key spot for us.
On to Juwan Durham
does FSU even have a scholarship?
the numbers always work out.
quick crunch of their roster indicates they have 8 returning scholarship players (and 3 returning walk-ons) plus 5 incoming recruits who are enrolled or signed LOI's for a total of 13 scholarships... not counting MJ Walker.
Maybe someone is transferring?
Well, he's certainly good at keeping a secret!
So he picked his safety school, then. /s
ok, so when does he enroll? Could we flip him before then? Take that troll level to 1000!!!
Summer classes started at FSU on May 15, with the final day of registration being May 18, and FSU only has one session of classes during the summer, meaning that he probably won't officially be enrolled until fall term starts on August 28, which is the same day that the fall term starts at VT. Though we have a Summer II session starting on July 5.
There's no silver lining. Lost a commit we thought we had to a non-blue blood ACC team who would have changed the program.
I dont think being on the same table as FSU means anything in terms of our "rise".
Seriously questioning Buzz's ability to close on top flight recruits.
/ducks
lol, well, he hasn't closed on a single McD's AA yet so.... I guess he still has something to prove.
I have no doubt Buzz will fill our needs, but guys like this are program changers.
FSU has won 2 recent ACC tournaments (2009 and 2012) under Hamilton, and are looking to have 3 NBA draft picks this year, with one possibly being a lottery selection.
Yeah, they're not UCLA, but lets not think that FSU isn't themselves also operating at a level higher than us as well.
3rd most wins in the ACC since 2006 I think
Well NAW is rated just about the same as MJ and plays the same position. But I honestly doubt we get that real "one and done" program changer under Buzz. He simply only rarely recruits those guys, and has said so himself. MJ is really good but I doubt he's one and done either.
It hurts, but I can see why he would go to FSU. Much easier path to the court than UCLA or VT. I also don't really think we ever led for him, just think insiders misfired badly on this one (as seen by his crystal ball.)
FSU needs shooters and we need bigs. If this means we land Durham and he's able to get healthy and stronger with his RS year, for us, it probably helps us more and is a better fit for the roster we have assembled.
One-and-dones AREN'T program changers. They're only there for one season. A program changer is a high level recruit who might stay for 3+ years. Someone like a Joel Berry, Sindarius Thornwell, or (throws up in mouth) Malcolm Brogdon.
That being said, you're probably right that Walker won't be one-and-done so he could be been that guy, but NAW I'm good.
Coincidentally, NAW could be a program changer in that case if he lives up to expectations.
I was with you right up to the bit about seeing why he would go to FSU...
UCLA has 4 guards on their projected roster for '17-18. 2 PG and 2 SG
FSU has 7 guards on the projected '17-18 roster. 1 PG and 6 SG/Wing
I guess if he wants to play PG, FSU is a slightly better option. But both teams regularly play only 3 guards/wings and when you're 1 of 5 instead of 1 of 8 your chances to shine go way up.
On the other hand, we project to have 4 PG and 5 SG/Wing to go along with 3 post players. So he would be facing the most competition to play PG if joined our roster, and a similar amount of competition for PT in the big picture. (10 guards for 4 positions vs 8 guards for 3 positions) as at FSU
I read this post in Bunk's voice
FSU was a top 5 most talented team in the country this season. Let's not pretend because their coach sucks that they are a bad program.
Let's not blow my statement out of proportion. I said that being on the same table as FSU is not indicative that we're improving as a program. Losing out to FSU isn't the same as losing out to BC on a recruit which is what you seem to be implying.
Considering where we were before Buzz took over, and looking at the talent FSU has brought in in the past few years, I say that being at the same table as FSU is indicative that we're improving.
This doesn't feel like we are at the table, more like we were punked. The crystal balls were misleading because he mislead them.
Hey, at least this means that FSU just got a little bit shorter. Should help us a little with rebounding against their Ents.
How does the team get shorter if the PG is 6'5?
I just don't understand where they find these dudes. If I had to pick a NCAA basketball team to win a bar fight I'd pick FSU every day of the week. They're whole team is always big as shit
So, when is a good time to start sending tweets to MJ Walker telling him he chose the wrong school? Asking for a friend. /s
I KNEW I should have been tweeting at him a lot leading up to the decision, but you stupid TKP'ers told me not to!
What a giant cluster fuck this has been!!!
I know people don't want to have to play against him but I'm actually more happy that he picked FSU and probably was just leading everyone on the whole time than I was going to be if he was really headed to Tech and we let UCLA swoop in and steal him at the last second.
Yep, reality is that insiders really didn't know as much as they thought on this one. But that happens a lot in basketball recruiting, it's just so much more unpredictable than football recruiting. See: Kevin Knox - was supposedly a heavy Duke lean the whole process, his crystal ball was all Duke and some UNC, and then goes on to commit to Kentucky.
Worst possible outcome for the good guys. Hope he is a one and done for the criminoles. Recruiting is a such a pile of poop sandwiches, interspersed with an occasional filet.
I don't like McDonald's anyways
My favorite comment of this thread. Welcome to TKP. Have a leg!
You got to give it to Hamilton, the dude can recruit. But on the other hand, have you seen a coach do so little with so much? lol
I thought the team they had this year was arguably top ten in the country talent wise and bet on them going relatively far in my bracket.
Never again.
I had them in the sweet sixteen.... never again as well.
Come back from a meeting and staff lunch to either celebrate or post snarky gifs about UCLA.
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Something I was not aware of but apparently Walker had made it clear to all the schools that recruited him that he wanted to play Point Guard at the college level. Looking at the Florida State roster for next season, he has a pretty good chance of being just that, especially since none of the other recruits being brought in by Hamilton are PGs. His only established roster competition for the spot is CJ Walker, who played about 12 minutes a game last year and didnt blow anyone away.
Coming here, he would have been sharing that role at a minimum with JRob, so maybe its not worth upsetting the apple cart here to have brought him in, especially if he ends up being a one and done.
Announcer "And coming off the bench at PG for CJ Walker is MJ Walk... is this a typo? dafuq? Ok, sure, Walker comes in for Walker..."
Coises, foiled again
What he didn't say is he'll be transferring here next year
Well, at least he will get to go to a school with a decent bit of talent and never make it past the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament.
Good luck to Bunny Colvin and the Florida State Seminoles on this great get
Sad I only have but one leg to give for this reference....
Whenever I come across your avatar, I smile. I'm a huge Wire junkie and Bunny was one of my favorite television characters ever. Joke had to be made.
Your Wisdom impresses me.