Marquette Lands Prized Recruiting Class

MILWAUKEE- Marquette Head Coach Buzz Williams announced the team’s 2009 recruiting class on Tuesday. The five-player class consists of JUCO transfer Dwight Buycks and incoming freshmen Junior Cadougan, Erik Williams, Jeronne Maymon, and Brett Roseboro.

The class checks in at No. 2 in the country according to Hoopmasters and Hoopscoop, while it ranks 14th and 15th by Rivals and Scout respectively.

Originally from Milwaukee, Buycks was named a NJCAA Division 1 Preseason First Team All-American at Indian Hills CC in Iowa.  Last Season, Buycks averaged 15.7 points per game for Indian Hills.

Coach Williams looks for the 6’3” wing player to contribute immediately due to his experience.

“Dwight arguably is the best junior college guard in the country,” he said. “He is very, very skilled. He has a great spirit about how he plays. He is a very good leader.”

Cadougan, a 6’1” point guard, is a consensus top 75 player at Christian Life Academy in Texas, and Coach Williams considered the Canadian-born Cadougan a critical part of his recruiting class.

“Junior is not only a point guard, he’s a true point guard,” he said. “And I think that’s vital to signing a five member class up until this moment, having a guy that can run the point guard from start to finish. And I think that he will have an opportunity to play heavy minutes right away.”

Erik Williams, another Texan, committed to the Golden Eagles last October and stuck with his commitment after Buzz Williams replaced Tom Crean as coach. The consensus on this versatile player is that he has tremendous upside.  In his junior campaign, Williams averaged 18.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 4.1 blocks per game.

“We want to recruit guys that can pass, dribble, and shoot with toughness being the number one priority on both ends [of the court]. And Erik represents that because he can do a lot of different things and I think he has a very high ceiling and he is going to continue to progress.”

Maymon, a 6’6”, 230-pound forward from Madison, Wisc., was the first player to commit to Coach Williams after he assumed the head coach position. His future coach believes Maymon has surpassed anybody’s expectations and will contribute right away for the Golden Eagles.

“His body is Big East physically ready to compete. He is similar to Erik in that I think he can do a lot of different things. He’s been compared to [NBA player] Ron Artest. I don’t like to compare our players to any other players, but he is very, very talented on both ends [of the court]. I think he brings a level of toughness [and] that from the first day he will be able to contribute.”

Maymon put on a dominating performance at the state tournament last season where he averaged 30.0 points, 14.6 rebounds, 4.7 blocks, 3.7 steals, and 3.0 assists per game.

Roseboro, a 6’10” forward from Quakertown, Pa., was the Golden Eagles’ most recent commit. He flew under the radar of most recruiters, but gained recognition this fall in the IS8 league in New York.

Coach Williams thinks Roseboro is another player with a high ceiling.

“He still has work in front of him like all of us do, but the determination that he goes about it with, I believe, will allow him to progress farther than any of us know as of now. He doesn’t know where he’s at quite yet physically. He’s not quite sure what he needs to do on the court in a lot of ways. On the flip side of that, he has a great skill set, he can really run the floor, he’s another left handed player (along with Maymon). “

These five players will be counted on to contribute early in their careers due to the loss of four key seniors after this season.

“In many respects they are all Big East ready and will all have to make an impact from the first day they arrive.”