Jeenathan Williams Tells Rivals That He Is Marquette Basketball’s #1 Target In 2018

The primary purpose of the spring and summer grassroots basketball scene is for players to get the attention of college coaches who are in attendance for the various events. What ends up happening along the way is the players also talk to the reporters for the recruiting services.

That’s what happened recently in Virginia when Rivals’ Eric Bossi caught up with Jeenathan Williams. The New York State product is ranked #145 in the country according to 247 Sports’ Composite system, but #107 according to Rivals, so you can see why Bossi wants to talk to the 6’5” wing.

Here’s what Williams had to say about Marquette, emphasis mine:

“They are recruiting me really hard. They are telling me that I am their number one guy. They are showing me a lot of love. I probably talk to them every day. It is like a family environment, which is what I am looking for.”

Well then.

Already this spring we have seen MU head coach Steve Wojciechowski or his assistants out visiting Joey Hauser, Jaedon LeDee, Race Thompson, Quentin Grimes, and Jarvis Thomas in the class of 2018, as well as extending an offer to Montez Mathis. Hauser, LeDee, Thompson, and Grimes are all ranked higher in the recruiting class than Williams according to 247’s Composite system, while Mathis is right about the same at #148.

The ideas of “Marquette is recruiting a lot of guys who are ranked higher than Williams” and “Williams is the priority for Marquette” don’t have to be completely disconnected. If Wojo thinks that Williams is a perfect fit for the team that he’s envisioning, then he absolutely should be the priority. If the coaching staff manages to get guys like Hauser or Grimes to improve the team even further, then so be it, but the further up the top 100 list you go, the harder it is to convince a recruit to attend your school over places like Michigan State or Kansas.

Williams also told Bossi that he wants to make sure he visits both Marquette and Syracuse, with the idea of visiting some time during the summer.

As things stand right now, Marquette has two open scholarships for the fall of 2018, along with the expected arrival of Brendan Bailey after the completion of his Mormon mission.

Here’s the latest scholarship chart:

(h/t @MarkKahnWI)