Marrero working on visits

One of the more versatile forwards in the 2012 class is DeJuan Marrero. The Gary (IN) Bowman Academy star is able to play either the small forward or power forward position depending on system, and that has Marrero garnering significant recruiting attention and in turn setting up several unofficial visits.

Marrero was given his first significant taste of the 17-and under level this summer running with Spiece Indy Heat. The 6-foot-5 forward held his own against the older competition and drew a lot of coaches to his games.

"I think I played well and played hard even after I had an ankle injury on July 12," said Marrero of the summer. "I think I played better and improved on the wing. I knocked a couple of jump shots down and showed more skill wise than last year."

Since he returned from the road in July, Marrero's phone has been quite busy fielding calls from coaches in the Midwest.

"Recruiting is going good," said Marrero. "I have been hearing from Purdue, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Xavier, Marquette, Wake Forest, Michigan, Dayton, Iowa, Miami-Florida, and Cincinnati."

The latest visit Marrero took was to Milwaukee to check out the Marquette Golden Eagles. The Big East program has targeted Marrero, and showed him a good time on the trip.

"I just recently took a visit to Marquette," Marrero explained. "It went well. Coach Buzz (Williams) is a great guy and I really like the entire staff. I enjoyed the campus and I was able to play open gym with their guys, and they are a talented ball club. They remind me of my high school with the way they play."

Up next for Marrero on the visit tour seems to be a trip to the Queen City of Cincinnati.

"Xavier will probably be my next visit," Marrero explained. "Coach (Travis) Steele is recruiting me and he is a great guy. They seem like a good group of guys, and I like the way they play. I think it fits me."

While he hasn't quite set up his third unofficial visit yet, Marrero will probably make a return trip to Ohio to check things out.

"Ohio State is a good school, no doubt about it," said Marrero. "They have one of the best campuses in the country. I spoke to Brandon Miller last week and I am going down to another football game. They are just a great group of people who treats you like family."

A school closer to his home is the Purdue Boilermakers. According to Marrero, Purdue has been in touch quite a bit recently.

"I like Purdue," said Marrero. "Purdue is always in The Region, and they have been recruiting me hard from the very beginning. I still definitely have Purdue on my list."

While Marrero isn't yet close to a decision, he does know what he will be looking for in a school. "The most important thing for me is education. Also I am looking for how the players treat you and how the people just treat you on the campus."

Currently Marrero is rated as the No. 85 player in the country.