INTEL: Ranking the contenders for 4-star Jacob McFarland
Jacob McFarland experienced a low-key breakout in July. Playing with the West Coast Elite NorCal program on the UAA Next Circuit, the 6-foot-10 center picked up a lot of steam in his recruitment.
Putting eyes on him, you realize that McFarland just moves in a way that most players his size do not. He has the lateral quickness to switch and the vertical pop to protect the rim. Synergy ranked McFarland as one of the premier defenders in the country, giving up on 0.447 points per possession which ranked him in the 96th percentile of his peers this summer.
McFarland’s upside and defensive presence shot up to No. 74 in On3’s 2023 rankings. On3 ranks McFarland higher than the other three national recruiting services. His industry-standard 2023 On3 Consensus is No. 99.
As many who read these pieces know, we start with the visits. McFarland has taken senior year official visits to Wyoming (9/2), Georgia (9/9), and Houston (9/17). Let’s go through the intel and rank the contenders.
1. Houston
Houston’s offer was the last to come in, but head coach Kelvin Sampson let it be known McFarland was a priority from the start. The style of play and development is playing a role here as well.
Houston also was able to get the last visit this weekend
Houston’s chances: 85 percent
2. Georgia
Georgia offered only a few days before Houston, but they wasted no time in the process. The Bulldogs offered at the end of June and got one of his only official visits only a few weeks later. Assistants Akeem Micksdeen and Charles Mann did a good job establishing the relationship and comfort level. Head coach Mike White did a good job showcasing the program and answering any questions McFarland had.
Georgia’s chances: 10 percent
3. Wyoming
Of the three visits, Wyoming was in there the longest. They also got the first visit from McFarland, with a chance to show the family what they have to offer.
Wyoming’s chances: 5 percent
Final thoughts
Jacob McFarland built a great relationship quickly with both Georgia and Houston. Houston is moving to the BIG 12 soon, and McFarland is the only center the Cougars are recruiting for this high school class.
Houston puts a focus on defense, especially with centers who can move their feet and protect the rim. McFarland looked closely at their player development and long-term plan for how they are going to best maximize his high ceiling.
While his Houston visit is this weekend, it should only be a matter of crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s.
On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine
I have placed my expert pick in On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) for Jacob McFarland to choose Houston. I set my pick with 75 percent confidence.
The On3 engineering group teamed up with Spiny.ai to create the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college. Starting from the ground up, On3 built an entirely new product that utilizes data, human expertise, and machine learning.