Former 2017 Maryland basketball target MJ Walker has committed to Florida State. It was already suspected that the Terps were out of the running, but the McDonald’s All-American made it official on Wednesday morning.
MJ Walker commits to Florida State | Story: https://t.co/jWUuo2dQvH pic.twitter.com/1qUrvot2tl
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) May 24, 2017
There were a flurry of draft announcements surrounding Walker’s commitment, as Wednesday was also the deadline for early entrants to withdraw. Justin Jackson returning to Maryland certainly softens the blow of this announcement, although landing both would have been a fan’s dream.
This is a big get for Florida State, giving them a top-15 recruiting class for next season, as well as a top-30 player in the class. Walker chose the Seminoles over Maryland, UCLA, Ohio State and Virginia Tech, among others.
Though Mark Turgeon and staff missed out on one four-star guard, InsideMDSports’ Jeff Ermann pointed out a potential reason his staff didn’t chase too hard: incoming combo guard Darryl Morsell.
One-time #Terps target. Turgeon never seemed all-in on him -- liked Darryl Morsell better.https://t.co/i9AmanSK4Z
— Jeff Ermann (@Jeff_Ermann) May 24, 2017
This spawned some pushback, but Ermann may have a point. Though Walker is the more highly regarded prospect — 247Sports Composite rankings have Walker ranked as the No. 26 recruit in the class of 2017, and Morsell lands at No. 72 — it’s important to look at the big picture, too.
Walker would’ve been a huge boost to Turgeon’s recruiting class, but that’s been more of a dream scenario for a while. Turgeon will still have talent to work with on the wing, and with Morsell coming in and the likelihood that Kevin Huerter will end up playing more minutes at guard, this doesn’t sting as much.