The big men dominate this edition of the recruitment series as TBB interviewed some of the top performers at Sandra Meadows Arena at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest. Which schools came to see Tyreek Smith? And the crowd got a nice surprise in the premier late night bout on Friday.
Julius Marble, 2019 PF – Dallas Jesuit
Marble had a solid outing producing 11 points and added 7 rebounds in the process. Marble in the second half played with more activity on the glass and orchestrated a solid defensive outing.
The Recruitment
Pepperdine, UTSA, Florida International have offered the talented 4-man and been in contact with him on a daily basis. Marble in October traveled to San Antonio on a unnoficial to UTSA and plans on taking a unnoficial to Florida International in the upcoming months. Julius has received interest from San Diego, North Texas and Richmond as each program has stayed in contact with him on a weekly basis.
Evan Marshall, 2018 PF – Midlothian
Marshall was on fire from the perimeter as he connected on four three pointers in the first half. Marshall was moving well without the ball and the TBB prospect created issues in the pick and pop scenario for Grace Prep. Evan finished with 24 points and displayed a skill set that translates.
The Recruitment
Air Force is the only offer on the table and Marshall tells TBB that he is looking for more as the season progresses. Evan will travel to Colorado Springs in January for a visit to Air Force and he has received interest from Loyola-New Orleans and from Ivy League programs such as Dartmouth and Brown.
Tyrese Maxey, 2019 Guard – South Garland
Maxey shot with confidence jumpers from way beyond the three point line. As double – teams arrived, Maxey still found a way to generate a bucket (Finished with 33 points). He was key in South Garland’s second half run vs Denton Guyer but it wasn’t his scoring in the second half that allowed his team to creep back in the contest but his ability to get others involved. Maxey commands attention from opposing defenses and made solid reads on Friday.
The Recruitment
Head Coach John Callipari of Kentucky was in attendance in Maxey’s much anticipated matchup against Denton Guyer as the five star guard and top guard in the 2019 class in Texas has been a priority for the Wildcats.
Tyreek Smith, 2019 PF – Trinity Christian Cedar Hill
The number three prospect in our database for 2019 displayed his high level athleticism, swatting/altering shots in the paint, finishing above the rim and soaring for rebounds. Smith finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks against JJ Pearce as he engineered a solid performance on Friday.
The Recruitment
Smith holds numerous of offers from Virginia Tech, LSU (who came to see him Friday), TCU, SMU, Houston, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Kansas State. Baylor and VCU have shown interest in the highly touted prospect as VCU was in the building to watch him play Friday. So far Smith has taken a unnoficial to LSU and the staff feels that LSU will be in the mix for the Louisiana native towards the end.
Drew Timme, 2019 PF – JJ Pearce
Timme possessed the most efficient offensive outings at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest as Drew went 8-9 from the field for 23 points and 10 rebounds. Timme also collected 5 assists where his versatility and skill set inside makes him a tough matchup for opposing bigs.
The Recruitment
Timme holds several offers as Creighton, Gonzaga, Oklahoma State are among the many that have requested his services. Colorado is the most recent program to show interest in Timme but also has received interest from Wake Forest as well. Wake Forest came to see Timme in October and Drew’s last unnoficial visit was to Oklahoma which was in October as well.
Edited by AB