Assessing Texas basketball’s 3 biggest visitors in June
Head coach Chris Beard and his staff are still seeking out the first commit in either the 2023 or 2024 Texas basketball recruiting classes at this point of the offseason. As the summer visit season sits firmly upon us coming out of a huge weekend on the trail for the football and men’s basketball programs in Austin, there were big names worth talking about.
But we’ve covered the huge official visit weekend for the Longhorns football program in the last few days. Thus, the activity on the recruiting trail for Beard and the Longhorns basketball staff should be getting some love from the fans on the Forty Acres too.
Texas has hosted roughly a half-dozen key targets for their 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes since the start of this month. That means we could see another big spike in activity for Beard and the Longhorns for the next couple of classes late in the summer. Texas saw that type of timeline emerge in terms of activity on the recruiting trail for the 2022 class late last summer.
The top targets to watch among Texas basketball visitors in June
With that in mind, here’s a look at a breakdown of the statuses of the Longhorns’ three biggest visitors among basketball recruits during the month of June.
Liam McNeeley, F
If there is an early edge that Beard and the Longhorns staff have with any priority target of the 2024 class early on that’s also in-state, it’s definitely the elite five-star Montverde Academy forward Liam McNeeley. Texas has already hosted McNeeley on a trio of unofficial visits since last offseason.
The latest unofficial visit for McNeeley in Austin came on June 12. He was one of the earlier big-time visitors worth noting this month among 2023 and 2024 visitors for the basketball program.
Among the in-state suitors early on in the recruitment of McNeeley, Texas looks like one of the pace setters. It wouldn’t surprise me if Texas was the early frontrunner among the in-state schools for McNeeley. The issue for Texas could arise with some of the potential out-of-state suitors such as head coach Jon Scheyer and the Duke Blue Devils.
Duke was already in contact with McNeeley in the last couple of months, but an offer has yet to be extended. With how selective Scheyer and the Blue Devils are being with the offers they’re handing out for the 2024 class early on, an official scholarship offer and a successful visit could be a game-changer here.
For now, though, Texas is a major competitor early on in the race to land a commitment from McNeeley. This versatile NBA-caliber forward does almost everything well and could be the perfect foundational piece for Beard and the Longhorns to build the rest of the 2024 class around.