Texas A&M Basketball: Aggies land first 5-star prospect Manny Obaseki

Texas A&M Basketball has gotten off to a splendid start in building its 2021 recruiting class, landing Manny Obaseki.

2020 SEC Coach of the Year Buzz Williams received a nice gift, in addition to the hardware he earned for his COY honors, with the verbal commitment of 2021 five-star prospect Manny Obeseki on Tuesday to Texas A&M. Obaseki is the Aggies’ first five-star recruit since they brought DeAndre Jordan aboard in 2007, per Corey Evans of Rivals.

“It really came down to Texas A&M and Oklahoma, but I just really appreciated the job that Buzz Williams and his staff did recruiting me,” said Obaseki. “They have only been on the job for a year, and they offered me right away, and I think it is the perfect spot for me. “I just had a great visit,” said Obaseki. “On the visit, they showed me how they play and watch film, and I was really impressed by that. They play a fast-paced system which suits me well, and I think I will definitely develop there.”

Obaseki made his decision following an unofficial visit to Texas A&M over the past weekend (March 7). He ultimately chose Texas A&M over offers Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Texas, TCU, SMU, Texas Tech, Baylor as well as Oklahoma, among others. However, the Sooners were the only school to receive an official visit.

The 6-2 junior combo guard is very athletic and can light up a scoreboard when he gets rolling. Obaseki is very strong and has excellent length. The left-hander is at his best when he has the ball in his hands and attacking the hoop, although his perimeter shot is coming along. Plus, the Allen (TX) native is a good passer, strong rebounder, and possesses a lot of pot defensively.

Obaseki is a consensus top-60 player in the 2021 class. Rivals is the only major recruiting service that has him ranked as a five-star recruit (No. 21 overall). He is currently rated as a four-star recruit by 247Sports (28th) and 247Sports Composite (25th) as well as ESPN (57th). Obaseki is the Aggies’ second commitment from the 2021 class, joining 6-5 four-star shooting guard Jaxson Robinson. With those two commitments, Texas A&M currently sits atop of Rivals recruiting rankings for the class and is second in 247Sports team rankings at No. 2. They are currently projected to have two more scholarships available for the class.

The 2021 class will be Williams, whose Aggies went 16-14 and finished sixth in the conference overall, third recruiting class. While Texas A&M will lose two — Josh Nebo and Wendell Mitchell –of its top three players overall (three players total), the Aggies are slated to bring in the No. 34 recruiting class in 2020, per 247Sports Composite, which includes one four-star and two 3-star recruits. Six-foot-two point guard Hassan Diara, who is a top-100 recruit, is the crown jewel of the class that also includes shooting guards Hayden Hefner and LaDamien Bradford.

The Ags still have one scholarship available for the upcoming season as they had only allocated 12 of their 13 scholarships last season. Junior college transfers Marial Mading (Chipola College), DeAndre Pinckney (Broward CC), Carlton Linguard (Temple JC), and Osborn Shema (New Mexico Military Institute) appear to be the most viable undecided candidates that the Aggies have offered a scholarship to.

Quenton Jackson, Emanuel Miller, and Andre Gordon made the most significant impact among the seven players in Williams’ first recruiting class, which ranked 35th in the nation. Jackson, a junior college transfer, was fourth on the team in scoring at 8.8 points a game while Miller led the team with 6.3 rebounds a contest. Gordon (6.2 ppg), along with Miller, spent most of the season in the starting lineup.