How did MU make top 5 of two 6-foot-9 stars?

On August 26, Mike Shaw’s AAU coach announced Marquette was one of five finalist for Rival’s 58th ranked prospect. The next day, Scout’s No. 2 ranked player Quincy Miller twitted that he had added Marquette to a list of 12 other schools he had been considering.

Sunday the news got even better as Miller posted, "My list currently has 5 schools on it. Duke, Louisville, Baylor, Oklahoma and Marquette." Narrowing it to that five dropped Georgetown, Illinois, Kentucky, Memphis, Oregon, Syracuse, Tennessee and Wake Forest from the list.

How did Marquette make the Final 5 list for two of the top 6-foot-9 prospects in the country for 2011?

There is much speculation about how much players weigh Buzz vs. other coaches, programs' ability to produce NBA players, Final Four runs, conferences, tradition, climates, etc. While these may be given reasons given on signing day, I do believe the biggest factor is probably communication between players and potential players.

If an 18 year old has to filter through all the hype and plays to their ego, who is he going to trust the most? I’ve got to believe they turn to their peers – players who just went through the same decision – to find out if they regret or are thrilled with the choice they made.

For all our speculation, the fact is that Mike Shaw may simply be hearing very good things from his friend and MU freshman Reggie Smith. Quincy Miller may simply be hearing good things from his former USA national teammate and MU freshman Vander Blue.

I believe we all are confident Buzz is a great guy and probably makes an excellent pitch when he gets a visit, but don’t you think potential recruits check with current players to see what he is really like? To ask how players are really received on campus? We will never know what other questions are important when you are an 18 year old elite player, but I’m pretty confident they are asking their peers the questions that really determine their final commitment.

I’m as guilty as anyone of wanting to know right now who is going to be in the 2011 class and exactly what is happening, but the fact that Shaw and Miller even have MU in their Top 5 is a great sign that good things are being said about the program by they only guys who really matter – the players.

This year is going to be fun, and if we land a 6-foot-9 player like either Shaw or Miller, MU will truly be among the elite programs having filled the only weakness from the last few years (no elite big man). Let’s relax, and hope, and just wait for the announcements.