When looking at the NCAA Basketball Recruiting class of 2023, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better pure athlete than Mookie Cook. Originally from Portland out west, Cook is a 6’7 true wing player that has been on the national radar since high school. He has all the tools a college and NBA team would want as an elite offensive talent, as well as a versatile and willing defender on the other end.
Cook has few weaknesses on both the measurable and intangibles and is a consensus top-10 overall prospect in the 2023 class and almost assuredly viewed as a “one and done” player for the pros. But every college team would love to have the five-star recruit for even one season.
We now know the nine NCAA Basketball teams in contention for Cook, including a few that have reportedly always been in the picture. But which of them offers him the best situation when it comes to development and potential of winning big in March?
2023 five-star Mookie Cook tells @On3Recruits he’s down to nine schools - Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, Michigan, Oregon, Texas Tech, and UCLA.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) January 18, 2022
Story: https://t.co/NFCnJdtJPU pic.twitter.com/cKnpZOuQEu
Here’s how I would rank each of them in terms of odds to land the Compass Prep (Arizona) star player.
9. Memphis Tigers
Head coach Penny Hardaway’s name still has cache’ among younger players and his ability to get top-tier prospects has been impressive at Memphis. What hasn’t been impressive is the inability to get much out of either the star recruits or the team itself. Currently, the Tigers are nowhere near the NCAA Tournament picture with Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren in the fold and the team’s prospects aren’t looking too great for next season.
The allure of Memphis may have been great for the 2020 and 2021 class but I doubt the class of 2023 prospects is very high on what they’re seeing. Barring a massive change in program philosophy and overall product, I don’t see the Tigers being a serious threat in this recruitment.