The WVU basketball team picked up one of the top prep prospects in the state of Wisconsin this week. Jordan McCabe helped strengthen the Mountaineers recruiting class by offering his verbal commitment to West Virginia.
The WVU basketball team already signed one of the top players in West Virginia (Brandon Knapper) and Ohio (Derek Culver). Those two will be joining West Virginia in the 2017 season. McCabe is just a rising junior, but is already more than happy to become a Mountaineer.
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He is the first verbal commitment in the Class of 2018. Other prospects on the WVU basketball watch list for that year include: Brandon Slater, Dwayne Cohill, Montez Mathis, Greg Floyd, Jarius Hamilton, Jerome Hunter and Dylan Swingle, according to verbalcommits.com.
Jordan McCabe might be the gem of this class, even though he is only the first to offer a verbal commitment. The WVU basketball team gets one of the most athletic, quick and skillful players in the nation with McCabe.
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He stands at 6-foot and weighs 175 pounds, so he has room to grown. However, as a point guard, his physical makeup is ideal for the position. McCabe is a three-star recruit, according to Scout and a four-star prospect, according to ESPN. McCabe’s composite ranking on 247sports is 0.8921 and he is regarded as the No. 23 point guard in the country.
It’s McCabe’s ball handling skills which make him a highly-sought after prospect. Despite his size and position, he can skill get the ball to the basket and make plays in the paint.
The Kaukauna High School player also sees time with the Wisconsin Playground Warriors on the AAU circuit. The playground is where he developed most of his moves, which have drawn viral attention via YouTube videos.
McCabe has been called the next Jason Williams, who happens to be a native West Virginian, and the next “White Chocolate,” who gained famed thanks to the And-1 Streetball tour.
Now, WVU head coach Bob Huggins isn’t exactly the most flashiest man in college basketball. His laid-back persona, mixed with an old school, in-your-face attitude may not mesh well with a out-of-the-box player like McCabe. However, it’s Huggins’ loyalty and dedication to the program which attracted McCabe to the WVU basketball team.
McCabe called it a “no-brainer” to become a Mountaineer.
"“A lot of things made it the right fit. Starting with coach Huggins himself, I don’t need to speak on the accolades he’s achieved over time. There’s a winning tradition and there’s 1.5 million crazy fans in West Virginia waiting for me right now, and I’m excited to go there and do every thing I can to bring them the success they’ve had for so long,” said McCabe."
Like Huggins, it seems like McCabe already understands the pride and passion that comes with being a West Virginia student-athlete. The Mountaineers are, obviously, a national brand and diehard basketball fans, and players, automatically recognized the WVU basketball program as one of the best in the country.
It didn’t take a lot of coaxing to get McCabe on board with the Mountaineers. It won’t take much for him to be one of the most exciting players in college basketball, in just a few years.