One of the top rim-protectors in the class of 2024, Yves Missi could be nearing a commitment. The five-star center says he hopes to announce his commitment “in December or January,” and the actual players in his recruitment have started to separate themselves.
Today, Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy ranks the contenders to land Missi’s pledge and paints the picture of a Lone Star State battle.
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BAYLOR
The Bears are the established leader in the clubhouse and would likely be the pick if Missi were to announce his choice today. Unfortunately for Scott Drew and company, however, an upcoming official visit to Texas looms. Sources indicate the Bears are somewhat comfortable in the top spot for the time being based on an official visit that stressed Missi’s fit within the system and the success Baylor has had developing bigs from overseas.
Missi to Waco is no lock, but toppling the Bears will be a tall order as the five-star center heads toward a decision. The fact that current BU center Jonathan Tchamwa-Tchachoua is, like Missi, from Cameroon, might also work in Baylor’s favor.
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TEXAS
The Longhorns feel like the only program that has a legitimate shot of stealing Missi’s commitment from the front-running Bears. Whether or not Texas can pull it off, however, will come down to the five-star big man’s Dec. 9 visit to Austin. According to Missi, he’ll be looking to build a stronger bond with the Longhorns’ staff while on campus.
He also intends to concern himself with getting a first-hand look at Texas’ style of play and how they utilize their bigs in the team’s game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. UT might be playing from behind for the time being, but will have every chance to close the gap when the visit weekend takes hold.
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STANFORD
Missi has been on campus at Stanford and is legitimately interested in the Cardinal, but it doesn’t seem as though the program has much of a chance of landing the 6-foot-11 center. That said, The Prolific Prep star mentions Jerod Haase’s program when asked about programs in the mix, so the Cardinal gets a passing mention here.
The allure of the university is obvious, and Missi himself recently mentioned how much his mother likes the power of a Stanford education. It would take a small cosmic act for Stanford to win out here. But, hey, you never know.
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NEBRASKA
If it would take a cosmic act for Stanford to land Missi, Nebraska needs a full-fledged miracle. Missi has been on record saying that he’d like to visit Lincoln, but that trip has shown no signs of actually taking place. Should it happen, Nebraska will need to be taken more seriously. Until then, however, the Huskers feel like an extreme longshot. Missi seems to be nearing a commitment, so the longer things go without a plan for a visit, the less likely any real UNL involvement looks.
