On Friday evening, 2023 three-star forward John McCrear committed to Murray State. The 6-foot-9 forward has been on an absolute tear in Kentucky’s summer league over the last couple of weeks, and he chose the Racers despite receiving recent heavy interest from many high major programs.

The stock-rising senior forward broke down his commitment with Rivals below.

IN HIS OWN WORDS

On why he chose Murray State: “Just the fact that it felt right. It felt natural, it felt like that’s where I wanted to be from the jump, and I couldn’t get that visit out of my head.”

Other schools involved: “I’d visited Akron, Kent State, and Youngstown State. I’d had a bunch of power five schools reach out over the last couple of weeks — NC State, Louisville, Ohio State, Cincinnati.”

On going mid-major instead of waiting for high-major offers: “I knew that Murray State had a plan for me off the rip. They want to build me into the player that they know I can be, and just enhance my chances of being in the league.”

On what part of his game he's developing: “Really, just trying to open up my outside game a little bit. Right now I’m know as the big 6-foot-9 kid that posts up, rebounds, and blocks shots. I want to be known as a versatile player in his game and if they need me to switch on a guard, I can do that, or take advantage of a big that’s slow on their feet.”

RIVALS REACTION: McCrear is choosing development and early game exposure over the name brand of a bigger school, which is becoming very common for late bloomers these days. If he reaches his potential, he’s a guy that could be one of the next really good players at Murray State. He’s just scratching the surface of what he can be, and Murray State seems very invested in developing him into the best version of himself.