This week in Mizzou recruiting: Antonio Doyle, Davion Bradford and Caleb Love

Greetings from my apartment. I’m writing this before I take off for Wyoming on Friday, so let’s get to the goods.

Antonio Doyle decommits from Missouri

Barry Odom lost his biggest pledge of the 2020 class on Thursday when four-star linebacker Antonio Doyle backed off his commitment to the Tigers. I had been told for weeks that this was possible, but it appears MU was able to hold it off for a bit.

I’m told Doyle still plans to heavily consider Mizzou despite backing off his pledge. I know many fans are skeptical of that, but I believe it to be true. Texas A&M is the biggest threat to land Doyle outside of MU.

Decommitments come for many reasons, and I don’t have a firm reason for Doyle’s yet. It appears he and his high school coach at Lutheran North, Carl Reed, don’t plan to give interviews until the end of the high school season. I have been told that Doyle has a strong relationship with Odom and his staff and MU had nothing to do with why Doyle decommitted. That’s all I have right now.

Davion Bradford to visit MU on Sept. 14

I caught up with 2020 St. Louis big man Davion Bradford on Wednesday, and he told me he plans to take an official visit to Missouri on Sept. 14. The 6-foot-10 basketball center heads to Kansas State this weekend for an official visit before visiting MU. Bradford said he’s also pondering an official visit to St. Louis after he visits MU.

Bradford said he’s got a lot of friends at MU and doesn’t see himself committing until he takes all of his visits. He said he has a great relationship with Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin and assistant Chris Hollender.

“Coach Hollender and Coach Martin always talk to me saying Jeremiah Tilmon is going to be leaving soon and they need someone to come in and play right away,” Bradford said.

Bradford played for MoKan Elite this past summer and was a major reason the team won the Peach Jam for the second time in three years. A traditional center, Bradford said he thought his post-up game and free-throw shooting have improved. He added a mid-range jump shot, which he struggled with during his high school season.

Bradford gave an interesting answer when I asked what he wants to major in in college. He wants to be a business major because he wants to run his own fashion company. I stand by my previous comments that Bradford is the 2020 recruit most likely to commit to MU.

Josh Christopher to officially visit MU ... again

Speaking of Mizzou basketball priorities, Josh Christopher tweeted earlier this week that he’s taking his second official visit to MU on Nov. 16, the weekend that the Tigers host Florida in football. To me, that’s an ideal scenario for MU. The Tigers will already be playing games at that point (they’re at Xavier) that Monday, and have a chance to show Christopher that they’re building something and he can be a part of it.

I think Kentucky and Arizona State are still major threats to MU, but so far the 6-foot-4 shooting guard has yet to set any other official visits. MU will be three games into its season when Christopher comes, and a win at Xavier will give the Tigers a good early resume victory to show they might be able to compete for a tournament bid.

A note on Caleb Love

I’ve said in this column before that I see a world in which MU lands Caleb Love and was recently asked to defend it. I can’t defend the whole case yet, but I asked around and there are two reasons why I think it will come down to North Carolina and Mizzou.

Louisville is strongly in the mix for 6-foot-3 guard Jay Scrubb, who is widely considered the nation’s top junior-college prospect. Scrubb is a Louisville native who is also looking into options to go straight from junior college to the NBA. The Cardinals are also in the mix for five-star Nimari Burnett, who is a combo guard similar to Love. If the Cardinals land either recruit, I see Chris Mack and his staff moving on from Love. Burnett visits Louisville on Sept. 13, two weeks before Love does. I’d keep an eye on Burnett coming off that visit. If he commits, I wonder if Love even visits Louisville.

Maryam Dauda

To keep the spotlight on Robin Pingeton’s targets rolling, meet Maryam Dauda. She’s a 6-foot-4 post player in the class of 2021 and is originally from Nigeria. She’s playing for the Missouri Phenom on the AAU circuit and had a strong showing at Nike Nationals, where she averaged 23.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. I’ve had a hard time finding a list of schools for her, but learned she is a heavy Arkansas target as well as MU’s. ESPN has her as a top-50 prospect in the class.