I know that there are two "offers" threads above the line on this forum- but no real discussion.

Looking at other sites that list commits and prospects - it appears 2023 recruiting class will not be a big one- perhaps because we will have so many of this year's team returning - supplemented by some more portal action.

However, 2024 looks promising with one current solid hard commit in 4 star SF Rob Dockery - and perhaps two more realistic options based on their listed "warmth" for Texas Aggies over other offers - 4 star SF Tyrone Riley and 3 star C Eli DeLaurier. All three offer some size and/or potential athleticism.

I and others have mentioned the highly rated (some make him #1 recruit in 2024 class) kid out of Dallas Lake Highlands - Tre Johnson - who has apparently done some official visits to the sips, Baylor and Kentucky. Someone else mentioned on an earlier thread that they have personal knowledge that the kid might be going straight to NBA developmental G-league or even overseas? We apparently offered him - and I think it would be great for us to try to get him on campus and to meet Wade Taylor - who could be an All American Senior PG by the time Johnson came to play his one or two years with the Aggies should we somehow get him to commit to play a little college ball and get that experience in Aggieland.

Is there anyone who frequents this board tracking any of this who might have additional information?

Would enjoy such a discussion.

Thanks in advance - and BTHO Off-season!!!

I think you're spot on that our lack of recruiting in 2023 has a large part to do with most of our team returning.

That being said, it's become pretty evident that Buzz thrives in the transfer portal more than he does in pure HS recruiting. I think the message that he is able to deliver hits home more for players who have been in college, matured, and realized they will have to tune their game and work with a team to be successful. While living in the transfer portal can be nerve racking, I'd rather get a strong player who is looking for a school to finish their last couple of years with than a player who views college as a stepping stone. (still would love to grab 4 and 5 stars dont get me wrong)

Dominique Kirk was an assistant Coach at Lake Highlands this year.

Rumor mill is that Tre Johnson will go play prep school for his senior season (think: Montverde, IMG, Link Year Prep, etc).

That would be cool if Kirk might be able to suggest an OV to Aggieland for the kid.

I think you're spot on in that Buzz is going to lean on the portal for roster construction (which honestly I think more and more hoops programs will do), but I won't be shocked if we have more transfers out of the program than people might expect.

Can someone tell me what the replies are in the Premium thread about "Buzz offered 5-star"….?

I imagine it's a bunch of, "and…??" Or, "what on earth makes you think he'd choose here?"

Anybody with Intel regarding that 5 star offer referenced above? Could that be referring to Tre Johnson?

Anybody have any Intel regarding the fact that Tre was coached by an Aggie alum and former mbb player this past year who might at least produce some influence on whether we might be able to get him on campus for a future OV?

Bringing this back up as it looks like Andre Mills, 6'4" SG from Massachusetts for 2024 has committed to the Aggies!

As far as I know, that is the second commitment for the 2024 class - joining Rob Dockery, the 6'7" SF from Washington DC.

The other site still has two likely prospects (based on cited interest in the Aggies over other schools) - Tyrone Riley, a 6'5" SF from California and Eli DeLaurier, a 6'9" C from Virginia.

Interesting that all 4 of these guys are from outside of Texas. I realize that we are competing with several strong Texas-based schools with more established (and more successful over the last decade) basketball programs - but feel like the Ags could enter the mix in coming years for more talent that is "home grown" in Texas - such as that highly touted kid from Dallas mentioned earlier in this thread and in other posts.

Still wondering if anybody has any more information whether Tre Johnson might give the Ags a look before making his final college decision for 2024.

What about Rivera?

Rivera?

That name has not come up on the site I generally follow. Is he class if 2024?

Fanatic15...Drs2B! said:

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Bringing this back up as it looks like Andre Mills, 6'4" SG from Massachusetts for 2024 has committed to the Aggies!

As far as I know, that is the second commitment for the 2024 class - joining Rob Dockery, the 6'7" SF from Washington DC.

The other site still has two likely prospects (based on cited interest in the Aggies over other schools) - Tyrone Riley, a 6'5" SF from California and Eli DeLaurier, a 6'9" C from Virginia.

Interesting that all 4 of these guys are from outside of Texas. I realize that we are competing with several strong Texas-based schools with more established (and more successful over the last decade) basketball programs - but feel like the Ags could enter the mix in coming years for more talent that is "home grown" in Texas - such as that highly touted kid from Dallas mentioned earlier in this thread and in other posts.

Still wondering if anybody has any more information whether Tre Johnson might give the Ags a look before making his final college decision for 2024.

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Looks like no additional "warm" prospects for 2024 since last posted - though I should note that we were not listed under Mills as likely or "warm" until he commited to us.

Does anybody know when the early signing period will open and close for the class enrolling in the Summer/Fall of 2024 in Div 1 MBB? Is it always in November of the prior year (so, Nov 2023 for these guys)?

Would be great to get a strong high school recruiting class for 2024. As it stands now, with two hard commits for 2024, another site lists the Aggies' recruiting class as a respectable #16 in the nation (obviously early). If we could actually close the deals and land Riley and DeLaurier, it could be our best class in more than half a dozen years.

George Turkson is another 2024 that A&M has offered and is heavily involved….undersized forward with long arms and a high motor and good defender. He was in Bryan this weekend for the Adidas Tourney. A&M coaches were there. He plays on the same team as Mills (Mass Rivals).

https://texags.com/players/19123/george-turkson

Looks like he retweeted highlights of Mills tourney in Bryan.

Future Texas A&M guard Andre Mills showing toughness at Adidas @3SSBCircuit Chapter 2 in Bryan, Texas! pic.twitter.com/RyJCGTbTm2

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 29, 2023

txag72 said:

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Looks like he retweeted highlights of Mills tourney in Bryan.

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I have an audio interview with Turkson on the premium portion of TexAgs.

Thanks, Hop. I'm a LOL Poor (or whatever the board calls us guys without a Premium subscription) - but will assume that if you took the time and effort to Interview Turkson, that he might be a potential addition to what is gearing up to be an excellent recruiting class for 2024!

Fanatic15...Drs2B! said:

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Thanks, Hop. I'm a LOL Poor (or whatever the board calls us guys without a Premium subscription) - but will assume that if you took the time and effort to Interview Turkson, that he might be a potential addition to what is gearing up to be an excellent recruiting class for 2024!

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I am wondering how many spots we will have to fill for the 24 class? We know these guys are gone after this 23 season as all will have exhausted their eligibility.....

Boots
Marble
Gordon
Eli Lawrence

But, what other guys could leave due to wanting more playing time? You never know but there is usually at least 1-2 every year that are getting further a long in their eligibility and want more minutes.


These guys could return for 2 more years since they are Covid year eligible but will all 3 return?
Hef
Coleman
Andy


What other guys that might not end up being top in the rotation, you might think could possibly leave??? IDK... Also, don't forget, you may have guys have really good seasons this year and decide to leave to go pro such as Wade or Manny???

Long and short, we could be looking for 4-6 spots to fill and if we land Turkson which I have a good feeling about as of today, that will already be 3 HS prospects in the boat and I would imagine we will take the other spots as portal guys. That would be my guess. We will be losing a lot of experience with just those 4 I listed above that will be leaving after this year, not to mention some of the experience in that second group of 3 guys I listed or Wade or Manny.

Let's get through 23 before we start worrying too much about 24 but you can see my mind starts wondering and thinking ahead. We could really lose a lot of experience following this year and might have to rely on picking up very solid, very proven 3-4 portal guys for the 24 roster.

It's so hard to get a read on A&M's recruiting efforts even though Buzz has been here for awhile. Yes, he likes position-less players who are long and play defense. But I'd love to know who he has really targeted heavily and lost out on.

With 2023 likely nearly completed in regards to HS kids, it looks as though Buzz will take a small HS class in 2023 (Bryce Lindsay and Brandon White) and use the portal for another player or two after inking transfers Eli Lawrence and Jace Carter

Rob Dockery and Andre Mills are the 2024 commits thus far.

One thing to note, Buzz and Co. are evidently very selective who they take, but conversely, they do have one of the largest amounts of "open" offers in all the NCAA. Between the 2023-2026 classes the Aggies have approximately 130 "open" offers on the table.

A lot of posters don't think he offers four and five star kids, but he does. In the class of 2024 there are 34 players offered by Buzz who are four or five star players.

My one criticism is that he doesn't sign enough players who can shoot the basketball.

Teams that win consistently have players that can shoot the rock.

You've got to be able to do both effectively, and at a high-level: play offense and play defense.

Somebody asked about Tre a while back. Here are his six teams:

Lake Highlands guard Tre Johnson is the top prospect in the Class of 2024 and has offers from just about every top program in the country. But only six are left with a chance to get him now.

On Monday, Johnson unveiled his top six schools remaining in his recruitment. The list consists of Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Kentucky, Kansas and Texas.

Johnson is eyeing late-July as his target date to make his commitment decision. There is no known favorite for his commitment as of writing.

So he has to go to a prep school to get eligible, and is interested in Alabama. Guessing Buzz didn't have him on speed dial.

Thanks for the update on Tre Johnson!

Didn't hear about prep school. Does that mean his current academic status after his junior year at Lake Highlands puts him in doubt of meeting collegiate entrance requirements?

Sorry that the Ags are not on that list - and certainly understand tu and Baylor as state schools with recent mens basketball success - and Kansas and Kentucky as true blue bloods - but why do Alabama and Arkansas keep making lists for high level high school recruits and the best portal transfers? Are their coaches just better recruiters? Bigger NIL funds? Better facilities?

IMG costs about $75,000/year to go there. There's literally no reason to do it if you're already a high level recruit, other than to have tutors hold your hand and keep you eligible. It's basically a high-priced insurance policy for can't miss recruits, and a money-suck for parents who thought their kids were can't miss.

Those high level basketball kids don't pay a dime to attend IMG academy.

gstu11 said:

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Those high level basketball kids don't pay a dime to attend IMG academy.

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Exactly

MarcAg said:

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gstu11 said:

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Those high level basketball kids don't pay a dime to attend IMG academy.

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Exactly

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Prove it.

94chem said:

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MarcAg said:

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gstu11 said:

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Those high level basketball kids don't pay a dime to attend IMG academy.

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Exactly

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Prove it.

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You think they are recruiting this kids and then telling them to pay $75k? You don't think they offer scholarships?

94chem said:

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MarcAg said:

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gstu11 said:

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Those high level basketball kids don't pay a dime to attend IMG academy.

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Exactly

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Prove it.

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My best friend's son is a sophomore football player that was recruited to a private school for his football abilities. While he hasn't been given a full ride yet they aren't paying anywhere close to full tuition and his parents make plenty of money so it's not a needs based scholarship. He's not even on the recruiting radar yet but he will be in the fall. If he plays up to potential I imagine his senior year will be 100% covered.

94chem said:

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MarcAg said:

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gstu11 said:

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Those high level basketball kids don't pay a dime to attend IMG academy.

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Exactly

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Prove it.

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Bryce Griggs was a five-star hooper coming out of Hightower HS. IMG wanted him since his freshman year. His dad told me the family wasn't going to have to pay a dime.

rlb28 said:

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94chem said:

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MarcAg said:

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gstu11 said:

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Those high level basketball kids don't pay a dime to attend IMG academy.

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Exactly

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Prove it.

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Bryce Griggs was a five-star hooper coming out of Hightower HS. IMG wanted him since his freshman year. His dad told me the family wasn't going to have to pay a dime.

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Right. But that's an anecdote. As far as I can tell, IMG doesn't want people to know who pays the bills. The top end prospects don't really need to go to a boarding school to get recruited. And it's not like IMG has some world class scheduling. It's just a strange dynamic. They had kids at the Texas Relays running the 4x800. There's not even good scholarship money in Track & Field, and if you're fast, you certainly don't need IMG. I suspect they have some well-heeled donors (ahem, maybe even boosters) who pay the bills for the top end kids to keep them eligible, and the tuition gets paid by the 2- and 3-star wanna-be's who got sold a bill of goods.

94chem said:

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rlb28 said:

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94chem said:

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MarcAg said:

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gstu11 said:

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Those high level basketball kids don't pay a dime to attend IMG academy.

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Exactly

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Prove it.

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Bryce Griggs was a five-star hooper coming out of Hightower HS. IMG wanted him since his freshman year. His dad told me the family wasn't going to have to pay a dime.

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Right. But that's an anecdote. As far as I can tell, IMG doesn't want people to know who pays the bills. The top end prospects don't really need to go to a boarding school to get recruited. And it's not like IMG has some world class scheduling. It's just a strange dynamic. They had kids at the Texas Relays running the 4x800. There's not even good scholarship money in Track & Field, and if you're fast, you certainly don't need IMG. I suspect they have some well-heeled donors (ahem, maybe even boosters) who pay the bills for the top end kids to keep them eligible, and the tuition gets paid by the 2- and 3-star wanna-be's who got sold a bill of goods.

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Well the original quote said "high level basketball kids" not the "2- and 3-star wanna-be's who got sold a bill of goods" so I'm not sure what your point is.

Fanatic15...Drs2B! said:

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Sorry that the Ags are not on that list - and certainly understand tu and Baylor as state schools with recent mens basketball success - and Kansas and Kentucky as true blue bloods - but why do Alabama and Arkansas keep making lists for high level high school recruits and the best portal transfers? Are their coaches just better recruiters? Bigger NIL funds? Better facilities?

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Arkansas is a much better basketball school than Alabama traditionally. I'd probably put them in a separate category in between those three.

As for Alabama they do play a fun style and I think it's mainly the coach/recruiting staff for them. I can't see them spending big on NIL for basketball and their basketball facilities really aren't that special either. But they've been winning and sending guys to the NBA under the current staff so that sells itself really.

Yeah Arkansas is definitely in a higher tier than Bama

I'm a Buzz fan. But the recruiting has been a disappointment.

Double Diamond said:

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I'm a Buzz fan. But the recruiting has been a disappointment.

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He's never been a top flight recruiter really and now we've made it even harder on him with our lack of NIL support.