Milton cuts list, plans visits
Owasso (Okla.) shooting guard Shake Milton emerged as a serious high-major target back in the spring, and offers poured in from around the country throughout the summer. But now Milton has decided to cut his list down and focus on four schools going forward.
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"I cut it down to four: Oklahoma, SMU, Indiana and Illinois are the four left," Milton said. "I'm visiting all four of them officially. I go to Oklahoma this weekend; I'm going to SMU on Sept. 5; I take Indiana on Sept. 26; and I go to Illinois on Oct. 3. I've already committed to taking all four visits, so I'm going to follow through on that. I'll probably decide a week or so after the last visit."
Lon Kruger and his Oklahoma staff were among the first to actively recruit Milton, and he hasn't forgotten about that.
"They are close to home, so my mom could see me play. They were one of the first schools to start recruiting and we have a really good relationship. They continued to get better the last few years. It just seems like it could be a good fit."
Larry Brown's track record of success and developing players has helped keep SMU towards the top of Milton's list.
"Coach Brown, his experience and where he's been, he has a lot of insight on how I could become a better basketball player and reach all my goals. I have a great relationship with Coach [K.T.] Turner. I like them a lot."
Milton's relationship with Indiana's coaching staff seems to be the driving force behind his interest in the Hoosiers.
"I'm talking to Coach [Tom] Crean and Coach [Steve] McClain every day. It's not just about basketball. It's about stuff outside of basketball too. I've built a really good relationship with them. When I went on my unofficial, I really liked Bloomington. I feel like it could be a good fit for me."
Indiana will also be getting an official visit out of Milton's teammate with MoKan, Juwan Morgan. The two have become very close and would be open to the idea of playing together once again for the Hoosiers.
"I would say our decisions are independent. We want to do what is best for ourselves and our future goals. If that happens to be us playing together at Indiana together, then I would love to do it because he's become one of my closest friends. If it doesn't work out, we'll still be close friends either way."
Milton unofficially visited Indiana back in late June, but he also stopped by Illinois on that trip. Illinois' player development intrigues Milton.
"When I went on my unofficial there, Coach [John] Groce sat me down and talked to me about player development and I feel like that's one of their strengths. Me and Coach [Jamall] Walker have a great relationship too."
When it comes time to make a decision, Milton has a pretty good idea of what he's looking for in a school.
"I know I'm going to be looking at the academics first. I know I'm going to be at the player's relationships with each other, what they are like, if they are together all the time or doing their own thing. I'm looking at the coach's relationship with the players. Things like that will be important to me."
Dan McDonald is a contributing national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.
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