Mizzou recruiting updates: Josh Christopher to visit, Aijha Blackwell deciding & more
Greetings from the second day of SEC Tipoff. LSU women’s coach Nikki Fargas is speaking while I type this Thursday.
It’s been a busy week and with a gigantic weekend coming up.
Saddle up (I don’t think I’ve used that one yet).
Christopher is coming to town
Missouri will host its first 2020 men’s basketball recruit on an official visit this weekend in five-star guard Josh Christopher. It’s the first of 15 visits the 6-foot-4 guard is allowed to take as a 2020 prospect. Sources close to the family have told me that they’d be “beyond stunned” if Christopher commits this weekend or anytime soon.
He’s a national prospect and plans to take his time. Christopher’s cousin Nicodemus is MU coach Cuonzo Martin’s longtime strength coach and this is a visit that doesn’t happen without him. While Mizzou assistant Chris Hollender has been on the road to see Christopher (which Nicodemus can’t do), the Tigers are never in the picture if the family connection doesn’t exist.
Missouri has a chance to make a heck of a first impression here. I’m curious to see how the attendance is for Mizzou Madness and what the Zou Crew and Antlers come up with for chants with him.
I plan to touch base with Christopher once the visit is over.
Aijha Blackwell to decide on Saturday
MU women’s coach Robin Pingeton’s top 2019 target Aijha Blackwell will decide between Kansas, Missouri and Louisville on Saturday. A five-star recruit and top-10 player nationally, the St. Louis prospect would be a GIGANTIC get for Pingeton.
Many believe that Blackwell will choose either Louisville or Missouri. No one seems to sure which way she’s leaning.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” a source close to her recruitment told me.
Blackwell is the daughter of former Missouri running back Ernest Blackwell. She recently took an unofficial visit to campus and appeared to enjoy it. Louisville is a national power and Cardinals coach Jeff Walz coached her over the summer with the USA national team.
But Missouri has momentum as the in-state school and with Sophie Cunningham graduating, Blackwell could step in and be the immediate face of the program.
We’ll see what she does on Saturday.
Mizzou offers Kobe Brown
Right before last week’s column ran, Missouri offered 2019 four-star recruit Kobe Brown out of Alabama. Brown is a 6-foot-7 forward who was offered after Cuonzo Martin watched him at an open gym.
I asked around about Brown, who was a top-25 recruit during his first few years of high school. He appears to be a solid player, but his conditioning has become an issue. Given Nicodemus Christopher’s reputation, and the work he’s done with Jeremiah Tilmon and Mitchell Smith, that shouldn’t be a concern.
As for the schools coming at Brown, hometown Alabama and Auburn appear to be in good shape. He has two official visits scheduled for Minnesota and Texas A&M.
Brown wouldn’t be a bad get, but Missouri is playing catch up behind both in-state schools at this point. Getting him on campus for a visit is the next step.
Jalani Williams update
Part of the fun of SEC Tipoff is that I get to run into some beat writer friends and catch up with them. On Thursday night, a few of them told me that they continue to hear good things with Jalani Williams, a 2019 safety from Parkway North, and Missouri football. And that’s coming from other schools recruiting him.
Williams recently announced he was going to wait until the end of the season to commit, but it appears to look good for Missouri. Barry Odom can really use a pickup like Williams, given the problems in the secondary.
Alex Schiffer
Alex Schiffer covers University of Missouri athletics for The Star.
This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 8:00 AM.