Jason Crowe Jr.'s commitment context
With the commitment of Jason Crowe Jr. comes a new high in Missouri Tiger basketball recruiting.
After this week’s updated rankings, Crowe is the No. 7 player in the country and No. 3 overall shooting guard.
That makes him the highest-rated recruit the Tigers have brought in since Michael Porter Jr.
Porter was the No. 2 player and No. 1 small forward in the class of 2017.
Missouri has not had another top-10 rated player sign with the program since the beginning of the Rivals Industry rankings.
The rankings generally go back to 2009 somewhat reliably.
Tony Mitchell was the No. 16 overall player and No. 5 small forward in the Class of 2010. Phil Pressey was the No. 47 player and No. 11 point guard in the Class of 2010.
Jonathan Williams was the No. 49 overall player and No. 10 power forward in the Class of 2013.
Jontay Porter was the No. 24 overall player and No. 8 small forward in the Class of 2017. Jeremiah Tilmon was the No. 42 overall player and No. 11 small forward in the same class.
Annor Boateng rounds out the Tigers’ history of top-50 recruits as the No. 32 overall player and No. 11 small forward in the Class of 2024.
If his position holds, 2027 Tiger commit Scottie Adkinson will give Missouri another addition to the list. He is currently the No. 30 overall player and No. 6 point guard in the Class of 2027.
Adding the first top-10 player in program history (since the beginning of the rankings era) who didn’t grow up in Columbia puts the Tigers in a new class of recruiting success.
Of course, Missouri coach Dennis Gates brought in a top-15 class with the 2024 group. That included Boateng, No. 74 Marcus Allen, No. 86 Peyton Marshall, No. 96 Trent Burns and No. 142 T.O. Barrett. But adding Crowe to a team that will lose Mark Mitchell, and could lose Anthony Robinson to an early exit, will help continue the overall momentum Gates has been developing with the program.
The Class of 2026 will skyrocket in the next updated rankings. Obviously, there was nowhere to go but up when you’re starting with zero commitments.
But now the Tigers have an elite selling point for players they were already trending well for like four-star small forward Aidan Chronister (6-foot-7, 170 pounds) – the No. 72 overall player and No. 25 small forward in the country – or contested targets like five-star power forward Toni Bryant (6-10, 215) – the No. 10 overall player and No. 2 power forward in the Class of 2026.
If Gates is able to add another top-75 player, let alone another top-10 player, the Class of 2026 jumps quickly from not having a single commitment to being an elite group.
And it follows the trend Gates began with the Class of 2024. The Tigers are now trying to be serious contenders in high school recruiting.
