That’s What They Said: Reactions To Osasere Ighodaro Committing To Marquette

On Thursday night, Marquette men’s basketball got a little bit better with the verbal commitment of Osasere Ighodaro. If you missed our article on his commitment, go check it out right now.

Here, we’re going to run through a collection of things from around the internet commenting on Ighodaro’s commitment to head coach Steve Wojciechowski and the Golden Eagles. First up, we’ll start with Ighodaro’s commitment video. Yes, it was in the news article, but hey, it’s worth watching again.

We should point out that 247 Sports has officially updated their class rankings now, and Marquette is now sitting at #15 in the country. Please keep in mind a few things here. First, there’s still two months to go before the fall signing period, so there’s going to be a lot of moving around over the next eight weeks. Second, the class calculations are heavily influenced by the number of commitments you have.... which is why Kennesaw State is at #18.

247 also updated their all-time recruits list for Marquette, and at #74 in the Class of 2020, Ighodaro is the 15th best prospect to choose the Golden Eagles since the turn of the century. He falls right in between Lazar Hayward (#75 in 2006) and Justin Lewis (#76 in 2020). Since Lewis and Ighodaro will be teammates at Marquette next fall, it’s worth pointing out that they’ll be playing with Symir Torrence (#75 in 2019), who is the 13th best MU prospect in the 247 Sports era.

That’s probably not a bad thing, especially not with Marquette holding four more open scholarships for 2020 and having a pretty good relationship with three prospects ranked higher than Ighodaro and Lewis.

But back to Ighodaro.

Eric Bossi from Rivals had this to say about what Ighodaro brings to the table in Milwaukee.

In Ighodaro, Marquette is landing one of the more intriguing and high upside players in the class of 2020.

Though he lacks strength and is still a bit inconsistent, Ighodaro is the type of four man that you can run offense through in the high post. He has promise as a jump shooter, he can put the ball on the floor and he has all the tools to be the high level hybrid forward that coaches covet in today’s game.

Here’s a quote about Marquette from Ighodaro to Bossi from earlier in the summer:

“Their team success sticks out,” Ighodaro previously told Rivals.com. “Also their player development is a big thing.

”They’ve really made me feel like a priority.”

Here’s what 247 Sports’ Josh Gershon had to say about Ighodaro in Evan Daniels’ news update on the commitment:

“Ighodaro is a late blooming forward with good size, versatility and a high upside,” 247Sports National Analyst Josh Gershon said. “He can score from the high post and in, has impressive vision and excellent timing as a rebounder and shot blocker.”

Gershon also has a separate article labelled as an evaluation of Ighodaro which is behind the 247 Sports paywall. If y’all have a subscription, go check it out, but since I don’t, I can’t tell you how in depth it is.

This article from the Ahwatukee Foothills News points out that Ighodaro averaged 9.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season as a junior at Desert Vista High School in Arizona. The key here is that he was playing in the paint on that team as opposed to on the wing where he is better suited. It goes on to say that Ighodaro will be able to go back to the wing for his senior season as well as theorize that they could be contenders for a state title.

Here’s a quote from John Ortega, who works with the program that hosts Ighodaro’s club team, as published on AZCentral.com:

“Osasere had a huge summer jumping into every top 100 ranking in the country. He showed the ability to score on all three levels, while also handling and distributing the ball like a point guard.

”There just aren’t 6-9 players that have his mix of skills. Because of that, I know he’ll be a special player anywhere. Marquette got an unbelievable steal in Osasere. His basketball IQ is still ahead.”

It’s not a new quote, but Ben Steele of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel republished this comment from an interview after Ighodaro’s official visit to Marquette in early August:

“I am a versatile player. I can guard 1-5 and play 1-5.”

I am 100% sure that is true at the high school and club levels. It remains to be seen if that holds true at the Division 1 level, of course, but if Ighodaro is even passable at all five spots..... whooooo boy watch out.

Here’s Ighodaro’s explanation for choosing Marquette, as reported by ScoopmanTV.com:

“I felt like it was the best fit for me,” he explained. “It felt like home when I went on my visit.”

As always, I want Marquette to be recruiting kids who feel like Marquette is the best place for them as well as prospects that the coaching staff sees how to maximize their potential. It’s obvious from Ighodaro’s comments that he’s comfortable with the Golden Eagles, with Marquette, with Milwaukee, and with the coaching staff. From the collection of commentary here, it’s also obvious that Ighodaro is a player who has a pretty serious potential upside as he continues to develop. You really can’t ask for more, especially from a top 80 prospect.