The recruiting process has been an interesting one for four-star combo guard JaQuori McLaughlin, one of the top prospects on the west coast. The Washington native has committed to schools on two separate occasions, only to reopen his recruitment in both instances.
First there was his pledge to Oregon State in September 2013, with things changing there when the school parted ways with Craig Robinson. Last November he committed to staying in state to play for Lorenzo Romar at Washington, only to have second thoughts and open things back up in May. Thursday it was reported by Kyle Goon of the Salt Lake Tribune that McLaughlin is focusing on three schools, with two being Pac-12 programs.
The three schools are Oregon State, which has worked its way back into the mix, Utah and Wisconsin. McLaughlin, who visited Oregon State the first weekend of the month, took a visit to Utah last weekend and this weekend he’ll be visiting Wisconsin. According to the Salt Lake Tribune McLaughlin could make his college decision at some point this fall (late September or early October).
While Oregon State added some youth to its perimeter, most notably Stephen Thompson Jr., the Beavers will lose guards Gary Payton II and Langston Morris-Walker at the end of the 2015-16 season (and Malcolm Duvivier is entering his junior season). Utah will also lose multiple seniors from its backcourt at the end of the upcoming campaign, with Brandon Taylor and Dakarai Tucker being two of the team’s three scholarship seniors (small forward Jordan Loveridge being the other).
As for Wisconsin the Badgers may not have a scholarship senior in its perimeter rotation, but there is a need for another player for the future with Bronson Keonig and Zak Showalter both being juniors.
In late July it was reported that McLaughlin had trimmed his list to five, with Washington and Gonzaga joining Oregon State, Utah and Wisconsin.
Video credit: Evan Flood