Eli Boettger | @boettger_eli | 04/14/20
Welcome back to Three Things!
The intention of Three Things is simple: Keeping you informed. The offseason can be a busy time and college basketball isn’t always on everyone’s radars from April to October.
Here’s how it will work: Every morning, Monday through Friday, we will provide you with three things that you need to know from the previous day. Pretty simple, right? You’ll be amazed by your new college basketball wisdom!
Here are the three things you need to know for April 14.
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Joshua Christopher’s stunner
The biggest news from Monday didn’t come until late in the evening. Joshua Christopher, the nation’s No. 10 overall recruit, stunned the recruiting nation by picking Arizona State over heavy favorite Michigan.
As of Monday afternoon, each of 24/7Sports‘ 10 expert predictions pointed towards the Wolverines landing the 6-5 shooting guard. Christopher now passes James Harden as the highest-rated recruit in Arizona State history, joining a Sun Devils team that has a high ceiling in ’20-21. Bobby Hurley already has top-40 recruit Marcus Bagley teaming up with Christopher while ASU could still bring back an elite trio of Remy Martin, Alonzo Verge and Romello White, which combined to average 43.9 points per game last season.
Jalen Pickett staying
One player over the last 25 years of college basketball has averaged 15 points, six assists, one block and one steal per game over the course of the season. If you guessed Siena’s Jalen Pickett, you either read the header above or follow the Heat Check CBB Twitter account.
With palpable draft stock and the title of reigning MAAC player of the year, Pickett’s pro decision was as important as any at the mid-major level. Pickett, who declared and returned to campus last spring, cited uncertainty over the pre-draft process due to the COVID-19 pandemic in his decision to come back to the Saints. With Pickett on board, Carmen Maciariello’s squad will eye a MAAC championship repeat.
Justin Turner flips transfer market
Several power-conference teams were counting on a commitment from Bowling Green grad transfer Justin Turner. The golden ticket, however, wasn’t awarded to any of them. Instead of choosing between Iowa State, Marquette and Missouri, Turner decided to finish his college career with Bowling Green.
“I’m confident it’s the best basketball decision for me,” Turner told ESPN on Monday. Turner, who averaged 18.8 points per game this past season, will hope to take the Falcons back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1968. BGSU won 21 games in ’19-20 and finished second in the MAC’s East division for the second consecutive year.
Eli Boettger is a college basketball writer and founder of HeatCheckCBB.com. He has previously worked for Sporting News, DAZN and USA TODAY SMG.
Boettger’s content has been featured by Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, FiveThirtyEight, Yahoo Sports, Athletic Director University, Washington Post, Illinois Law Review and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. Boettger is also a current USBWA member and Rockin’ 25 voter.