GU Target Visits ORU

It appears that the competition for Daequon Montreal is going to be intense until the end. The College of Southern Idaho PF has been a top target for Coach Few and the rest of the staff for the past couple of months. Montreal took his first official visit this past weekend, when he visited Oral Roberts University.

Montreal is being recruited by Gonzaga, Oklahoma, Colorado St., St.John's, Providence, University of Washington, and Oral Roberts. While Montreal clearly has an interest in Oral Roberts, he has stated that he will be taking all five of his visits. However, he will not be visiting anymore schools until the completion of his CSI season.

TKR's Take: While Montreal has a solid list of schools pursuing him, I think that 4 teams really stand out for his services; Gonzaga, Oral Roberts, Oklahoma, and St. John's.

Gonzaga: Of the schools recruiting Montreal, it is hard to argue that GU is not the most successful and prestigious of the group at this point. The Zags can also offer immediate playing time, as next season, the frontcourt will consist of Poling, Sacre, Foster, and Dower (assuming Daye leaves for the NBA). While this is a talented group, I would not call it distinguished, and I certainly believe that Montreal would be able to compete for immediate playing time. Gonzaga also offers great proximity to CSI. If Montreal is a fan of this area, then Gonzaga would be a perfect fit.

Oral Roberts: Clearly Montreal has a very high interest in the Golden Eagles. ORU is the only school that Montreal visited prior to his season, and the article mentions that he did this to show his loyalty and interest to the coaching staff at ORU. However, will Montreal be able to turn down the higher level conferences and teams that are recruiting him?

Oklahoma: The main reason I put the Sooners in this group is Juan Patillo. Patillo was a teammate of Montreal last season, and he will be playing for the Sooners this season. Patillo is expected to have a big role with the Sooners, and you better believe that Jeff Capel will make sure that Patillo is selling Montreal on all the great aspects of Oklahoma University.

St. John's: It's hard to turn down the opportunity to return home and play in front of friends and family. Although the Red Storm have struggled recently, it is still the dream of most New York basketball players to play at St. John's. If Montreal is eager to be closer to home, then I think St. John's will be very hard to beat for his services.