MU’s Smart offers scholarships to local prospects
Shaka Smart made it clear in his first days as Marquette men’s basketball coach that he would make local players a priority in recruiting.
Just a few weeks into his tenure, Smart is delivering on that promise. On Sunday night, he made his first scholarship offers to Class of 2022 high school prospects as MU’s head coach, extending them to Menomonee Falls’ Seth Trimble and Wauwatosa East’s Leon Bond.
Smart, who graduated from Oregon High School outside of Madison in 1995, has recent recruiting success in his home state.
David Joplin, a 6-foot-7 forward from
Brookfield Central in the 2021 class, committed to Smart at Texas. Not long after Smart left for MU, Joplin asked to be released from his national letter of intent with the Longhorns. The athletic Joplin could follow Smart to MU, though many schools have reached out to him. Joplin averaged 25.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists as a senior.
“Absolutely it’s important to us to do a great job recruiting in the local area,” Smart said in his introductory news conference. “Important to develop relationships with high school coaches and grassroots coaches in this area.
“The talent has gotten better since 1995 when I graduated high school, so we’re definitely looking forward to developing relationships with young men from this area.”
MU did not have a scholarship player from the state in the last two seasons under former coach Steve Wojciechowski.
Here is a closer look:
Seth Trimble, 6-2 guard, Menomonee Falls
The athletic guard’s stock skyrocketed this season after he averaged 23.3 points, 6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game and earned second-team honors on the Journal Sentinel’s all-area team.
College coaches definitely took notice, with Wisconsin, Illinois and Creighton among the schools that have made scholarship offers.
Trimble uses his elite athleticism to attack the rim, but his outside shot is much improved, as he’s made 33 of 94 three-pointers this season.
Trimble plays AAU ball for the local Phenom University-Team Herro squad. He is No. 80 on the 247 Sports composite rankings for the 2022 class.
Leon Bond, 6-5 forward, Wauwatosa East
Like Trimble, Bond is a high-flying rim attacker. Bond averaged just over 12 points per game on a well-balanced Tosa East team, but he drew attention with his thunderous dunks.
Bond’s athleticism also translates to the defensive end, with the ability to switch positions and swat shots at the rim. That likely drew the attention of Smart, who has coached strong defenses at Virginia Commonwealth and Texas.
Bond plays for the JH1 AAU program.