That’s What They Said: Theo John Commits To Marquette

Theo John himself, via Twitter:

After careful consideration and a lot of thought and prayer with my family, I have decided to attend the University of Marquette. I believe Marquette is the best fit for me. Over the past year and a half I have developed a great relationship with their coaching staff as they have believed in me since the beginning. I do want to thank the other great coaches who spent countless hours recruiting me through this process. This was a difficult decision but it’s the right decision for me and I couldn’t be more excited to be a Golden Eagle. I have worked very hard for this opportunity and I don’t take this for granted. I am humbled to see that the countless hours in the gym have paid off but this is only just the beginning. I want to thank all my teammates, coaches and friends who believed in me and helped me get tot he position I am in today.

Marcus Fuller for the Star Tribune, before John’s commitment:

Now it's finally decision time for the 6-foot-9 senior who will pick a college Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Champlin Park High School, John announced on Twitter.

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Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski and assistant Stan Johnson made John feel like he could make an immediate impact. His 7-foot-4 wingspan and powerfully built 230-pound frame are tools that could allow him to be a defensive presence as a freshman.

This is relevant information, since in the article on his commitment, I used 247 Sports’ listing of 6’8” and 210 lb. If John is an inch taller and 20 pounds heavier already, with a year to go before he arrives in Milwaukee..... well, that’s much better news for a 2017-18 Marquette squad that is in desperate need of size.

Jace Frederick for the Twin Cities Pioneer Press:

John said Marquette provided the best opportunity to develop as a person and as a basketball player.

“And the relationship with coaches was huge, too,” said John, who hopes to wear the No. 3 jersey for the Golden Eagles — the same number worn by NBA superstar Dwyane Wade, John’s favorite player, when he was at Marquette.

Gonna go out on a limb and say that’s probably not going to happen. Unless Marquette decides to change things to a “Retired numbers only for National Players of the Year” system (which I would be in favor of), Wade’s #3 is retired and is going to stay that way. Sorry, Theo.

The Daily Gopher, our SB Nation sister site covering Minnesota, John’s runner up:

Theo John is the gut-punch to Gopher fans. The John recruitment came down to Marquette and Minnesota. The Gophers offered John long ago and have made him a priority recruit. They spent their summer making sure a member of their staff was always in the gym watching his games throughout the summer, including Richard Pitino. John has picked Marquette despite the fact that according to Ryan James at GopherIllustrated.com, Head Coach, Steve Wojciechowski never once made John a priority enough to watch him live in the Open Period this summer.

Hey, some kids understand that there’s only four coaches who can go places and sometimes that means that the head coach doesn’t go see a particular kid if they think the relationship is strong.

NBC Sports’ College Basketball Talk:

“Theo John is a solid addition for Marquette,” NBCSports.com recruiting analyst Scott Phillips said, “and gives them a big man who has some upside. John is a solid positional defender and he’s been better with his post moves over the last year.”

Evan Daniels for Scout:

During the spring and summer, John played for the loaded Howard Pulley in the Nike EYBL circuit. John averaged 5.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks a game.

I pulled John’s stats from that article because the next pull has a little bit of context for what appears on the surface to be slightly underwhelming.

Corey Evans for Hoop Seen:

While most of the talk surrounding the Howard Pulley gang this past summer surrounded the likes of Gary Trent, Brad Davison, and Tre Jones, it was John that kept the entire group together during their run throughout the Nike EYBL circuit.

Not someone that is known for his low block game, though John has improved with his back to the rim where he has a go-to hook jumper over his left shoulder, rather it is his energy exertions and glue guy qualities that makes him so valuable. Scoring less than seven points per game, the Pulley center did convert on nearly 60-percent of his shots and came close to 10 boards per-32 minutes of action.

However, where John does his best work is in the lane on the defensive end of the floor. Coming up with 1.7 blocks in less than 18 minutes of game action is beyond promising and the fact that John already exhibits a college ready frame makes it seem that he could be an imposing figure from day one at Marquette.

To explain the first paragraph further: Trent is the #11 recruit in the class of 2017 according to 247 Sports Composite rankings, while that system has Davison at #82 in 2017 and Jones at #23 for 2018. In short, John is going to be asked to do the same things as a freshman for a Marquette team that will be loaded with experienced guards and wings that he was asked to do for Pulley over the summer.