Northwestern has already landed one Top 100 player in its 2022 class. Now they are looking for two more to join him who are both ranked in the Rivals150.
Point guard Rowan Brumbaugh, a newly minted four-star prospect and the No. 93 player in the nation, committed to the Wildcats on Aug. 30 to become the first member of the Wildcats’ class. Now he and the coaching staff are going after J.J. Starling and Josh Reed, the two top priorities on their board.
Here's the rundown on each of them.
J.J. Starling
Starling, should he wind up committing to Northwestern, would become head coach Chris Collins’ highest-rated recruit. The four-star point guard from New York and Laporte (Ind.) La Lumiere is ranked as the No. 40 player in the nation for 2022.
The 6-foot-3 Starling recently put Northwestern on his official visit itinerary with some pretty heady company. Starling visited Notre Dame last weekend and will Syracuse this coming weekend. Then, he will go to Northwestern on Sept. 17-19 and, finally, Duke on Sept. 24-26. That’s not a bad list for the Wildcats to be on.
Starling is also a point guard but coaches envision he and Brumbaugh playing together. Of the two, Brumbaugh is the one more likely to play with the ball in his hands, while Starling is a bona fide scorer who can easily play off the ball.
“I can do both, point guard or play off the ball as a guy who can use ball screens or score,” he told DevilsIllustrated. “I’m a combo, for sure. I play the one and the two. It’s whatever the coaches need me to do to help the team the most. I really like setting my teammates up, getting the ball in the right spots but I can do both.”
Starling, who also visited Northwestern in June, plays for the Albany City Rocks AAU team, the same program that produced former Wildcat Anthony Gaines. WildcatReport’s efforts to reach him have been unsuccessful thus far.
Josh Reed
Reed, a 6-foot-7 wing from Atlanta (Ga.) Pace Academy, has Northwestern in the Top 5 that he released on Aug. 24. The Wildcats are in the hunt with Boston College, Butler, South Carolina and Cincinnati.
Reed had been a four-star, Top 100 player himself before dropping in the latest Rivals rankings. He is now a three-star who is ranked No. 122 in the nation. Still, Rivals basketball recruiting analyst Dan McDonald likes Reed’s skills and named him one of the most under-recruited prospects early in the summer.
“He's a legitimate 6-foot-7 with a really well-rounded game. He's a scorer, but has a really good feel for picking his spots. He can play inside or outside. He's a great student, which always opens up more opportunities.”
Reed also visited Northwestern in June. WildcatReport hasn’t been able to reach him.
Northwestern had been in the hunt for other top prospects earlier in the summer but are primarily focused on Reed and Starling right now.
Northwestern offered Chisom Okpara, Starling’s three-star forward teammate at La Lumiere, but he is expected to pick Harvard and has been off the Cats’ radar for a while. Northwestern also doesn’t seem to be getting much traction with Braden Huff, who plays at nearby Glenbard West and for the Illinois Wolves AAU team, both programs that produced NU all-time leading scorer John Shurna.
The Wildcats are expected to lose three scholarship players at the end of the 2020-21 season: guard Ryan Greer, forward Pete Nance and grad transfer Elyjah Williams. However, the Wildcats also have one additional scholarship in play because they are playing with 12 scholarship players this season, one short of the limit. They could use it on a 2022 prospect or a transfer.
Point guard Rowan Brumbaugh, a newly minted four-star prospect and the No. 93 player in the nation, committed to the Wildcats on Aug. 30 to become the first member of the Wildcats’ class. Now he and the coaching staff are going after J.J. Starling and Josh Reed, the two top priorities on their board.
Here's the rundown on each of them.
J.J. Starling
Starling, should he wind up committing to Northwestern, would become head coach Chris Collins’ highest-rated recruit. The four-star point guard from New York and Laporte (Ind.) La Lumiere is ranked as the No. 40 player in the nation for 2022.
The 6-foot-3 Starling recently put Northwestern on his official visit itinerary with some pretty heady company. Starling visited Notre Dame last weekend and will Syracuse this coming weekend. Then, he will go to Northwestern on Sept. 17-19 and, finally, Duke on Sept. 24-26. That’s not a bad list for the Wildcats to be on.
Starling is also a point guard but coaches envision he and Brumbaugh playing together. Of the two, Brumbaugh is the one more likely to play with the ball in his hands, while Starling is a bona fide scorer who can easily play off the ball.
“I can do both, point guard or play off the ball as a guy who can use ball screens or score,” he told DevilsIllustrated. “I’m a combo, for sure. I play the one and the two. It’s whatever the coaches need me to do to help the team the most. I really like setting my teammates up, getting the ball in the right spots but I can do both.”
Starling, who also visited Northwestern in June, plays for the Albany City Rocks AAU team, the same program that produced former Wildcat Anthony Gaines. WildcatReport’s efforts to reach him have been unsuccessful thus far.
Josh Reed
Reed, a 6-foot-7 wing from Atlanta (Ga.) Pace Academy, has Northwestern in the Top 5 that he released on Aug. 24. The Wildcats are in the hunt with Boston College, Butler, South Carolina and Cincinnati.
Reed had been a four-star, Top 100 player himself before dropping in the latest Rivals rankings. He is now a three-star who is ranked No. 122 in the nation. Still, Rivals basketball recruiting analyst Dan McDonald likes Reed’s skills and named him one of the most under-recruited prospects early in the summer.
“He's a legitimate 6-foot-7 with a really well-rounded game. He's a scorer, but has a really good feel for picking his spots. He can play inside or outside. He's a great student, which always opens up more opportunities.”
Reed also visited Northwestern in June. WildcatReport hasn’t been able to reach him.
Northwestern had been in the hunt for other top prospects earlier in the summer but are primarily focused on Reed and Starling right now.
Northwestern offered Chisom Okpara, Starling’s three-star forward teammate at La Lumiere, but he is expected to pick Harvard and has been off the Cats’ radar for a while. Northwestern also doesn’t seem to be getting much traction with Braden Huff, who plays at nearby Glenbard West and for the Illinois Wolves AAU team, both programs that produced NU all-time leading scorer John Shurna.
The Wildcats are expected to lose three scholarship players at the end of the 2020-21 season: guard Ryan Greer, forward Pete Nance and grad transfer Elyjah Williams. However, the Wildcats also have one additional scholarship in play because they are playing with 12 scholarship players this season, one short of the limit. They could use it on a 2022 prospect or a transfer.
