On the same day Buzz Williams and the Golden Eagles received a crushing blow, they also received some good news when 6-foot-6 wing Marial Shayok announced his commitment to Marquette via Twitter.
Earlier in the day it was announced that 6-foot-8 junior-college junior Jameel McKay had decided to transfer from the school before ever playing a single game. That opened up a second scholarship for the 2014 class — Marquette likely won’t fill the now-open scholarship in the 2013 class — but Shayok had been on Marquette’s radar for some time.
A native of Ontario, Canada, Shayok currently attends Blair Academy in New Jersey. Like Ahmed Hill, who gave an oral commitment to Marquette last week, Shayok attended Marquette Madness last Friday and came away impressed — fellow 2014 commit Sandy Cohen also attended festivities in Milwaukee, though Malek Harris did not.
Marial Shayok is Marquette’s third commitment in the 2014 class. (Credit: CrownMagOnline.com)
This past summer Shayok played on Canada’s Junior Men’s National Team, alongside the likes of Andrew Wiggins (Kansas), Chris Egi (Harvard), Tyler Ennis (Syracuse) and Trey Lyles (down to Kentucky and Louisville). An assistant on that star-studded group was Marquette assistant Jamie McNeilly. Marquette offered Shayok on June 18 while he was being coached by McNeilly, and he took a campus visit on Sept. 10, per 247 Sports. However, it was Brad Autry’s work on the recruiting trail that led Shayok to choose Marquette over Providence and Virginia, the two other schools the 3-star switchable was considering when he announced late Thursday night.
Fellow Canadian Junior Cadougan completed his senior season in March, though it’s unclear if the former Marquette point guard had any influence in Shayok’s decision.
Shayok had been a prominent figure on Canada’s CIA Bounce AAU team, though his move to the states and to attend Blair Academy saw his stock rise considerably this summer. He’s somewhat under the radar because he hasn’t been exposed much, but there’s plenty of upside within the long slasher.
His commitment occurring on the same day McKay announced his transfer was a coincidence, and it does not change how the Golden Eagles staff will recruit to finish out their 2014 class. They have a pure shooting guard in Hill and three wings in Shayok (6-foot-6), Harris (6-foot-5) and Cohen (6-foot-5), yet there’s still a void inside with Chris Otule, Davante Gardner and Jamil Wilson exhausting their eligibility at season’s end. Currently Steve Taylor (6-foot-8) and Juan Anderson (6-foot-6) are the tallest players on Marquette’s expected roster next season.
Though Marquette now has just one scholarship available, a source told Paint Touches that the Golden Eagles are expected to sign at least two big men to round out the 2014 class. The likeliest options are Tory Miller — though he’s leaning heavily toward Colorado — and Satchell Pierce, who is visiting Pittsburgh this weekend and is expected to take visits to Marquette and Miami this month, his collegiate coach told ESPN.com’s Adam Finkelstein yesterday.
Because McKay’s departure was unexpected, it’s likely that Marquette’s active recruiting will last into the spring signing period rather than the class being finalized by November, when the four current recruits are expected to sign National Letters of Intent.
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