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Marquette Basketball Recruiting: Top-100 forward Justin Lewis commits

By Lukas Harkins

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 15: Head coach Steve Wojciechowski of the Marquette Golden Eagles directs his players in the first half against the Seton Hall Pirates during the semifinal round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 15, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 15: Head coach Steve Wojciechowski of the Marquette Golden Eagles directs his players in the first half against the Seton Hall Pirates during the semifinal round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 15, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Marquette Basketball’s 2020 recruiting class is absolutely vital to the future of the program. Landing top-100 forward Justin Lewis is a tremendous start.

Marquette basketball has only reached the NCAA Tournament twice in the last six seasons. While the program has been close on several occasions, it is yet to truly get over the hump under head coach Steve Wojciechowski. Many expected that the big leap would occur during this coming 2019-20 season, but then the Hauser Brothers elected to transfer, a crushing blow to the roster. Looking ahead to the future, Marquette’s 2020 recruiting class will be crucial to the development of the program under Coach Wojo. Thankfully, he just got off to a great start by landing a commitment from top-100 prospect Justin Lewis.

Lewis, a 6-foot-7 power forward from Maryland, is an extremely talented recruit. With an incredible motor and top-tier athleticism, he is oozing with potential on both ends of the floor. He plays with a great competitive drive and his moves simply look smooth as a face-up forward. Lewis drives and scores around the hoop at a high rate and is improving as a jump-shooter. He also has a knack for finishing above-the-rim in transition and off put-backs. On the defensive end, he has the physical tools needed to be a multi-positional stopper.

Lewis also posted strong numbers while playing for Team Melo (MD) on the Nike EYBL circuit. Across 16 total games with the team, he averaged 18.3 points (.450/.312/.577), 9.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in just under 30 total minutes per game. He also averaged over one steal and one block per contest to showcase his defensive versatility. It was clear that he was an impact player on the floor and his recruitment heated up as a result.

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Marquette started to gather some serious momentum with regards to Lewis after he took a visit to campus in June. The coaching staff obviously made a strong impression on that trip as recruiting experts around the nation started making their picks for Lewis-to-MU shortly after. Then, the talented forward finalized his college decision on July 24 by announcing his intentions to play in the Cream City.

With regards to his fit with the program, there is always room for a versatile 6-foot-7 forward. Players with Lewis’ skillset consistently find rotational roles right away at the college level and the same can be said in this scenario. Marquette is losing four key rotation players after this coming season (Howard, Anim, Johnson, Morrow), and there will likely be opportunities for Lewis to see the floor right away as a result. Considering Symir Torrence reclassified to 2019, Lewis is now the only commit in MU’s 2020 class.

The Golden Eagles beat out programs such as Mayland, Virginia Tech, and UConn for his commitment. It is clear that this is a major recruiting win for the program but it is only the start of what could be a special recruiting class. Marquette is heavily targeting several other top-100 prospects and they seem to be in relatively solid shape for a few of them. Coach Wojo still has four open scholarships remaining to use on the 2020 class (after the Lewis commitment) and this could end up as a top-20 class if all goes according to plan.

Most notably, the Golden Eagles are among the favorites to potentially land Dawson Garcia (No. 32 overall). The big man is starting to garner some blueblood interest as of late, but Marquette still seems to be in contention for his commitment. Additionally, Marquette recently made the cuts for Myles Stute (top 7), Nimari Burnett (top 12), and Osasere Ighodaro (top 4). Four-star forward Jalen Bridges is also taking an official visit to campus in early August.

Next. Early takeaways on the 2020 recruiting class. dark

Now that Marquette has secured its first commit in the class, Coach Wojo will be eager to land more. Justin Lewis is an outstanding building block for this vital recruiting class and the program seems to be in solid positioning for a number of other top-100 prospects as well. Marquette could be on the brink of an elite class.

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