TOP PREPS TO VISIT DUTCHER’S AZTECS
Burries, a 6-5 guard from Inland Empire, wanted by blue bloods
San Diego State’s basketball team will host two prep recruits today — one under the radar and one positively not.
Coming on an official campus visit is Thokbor “David” Majak, a 7-footer born in South Sudan who is a senior at Dream City Christian High School in Glendale, Ariz. He has uniquely agile feet and hands for a person his size but needs to put on weight and would likely be a redshirt candidate as a freshman.
Coming on an unofficial visit is someone who needs no introduction: Brayden Burries, a 6-5 guard from the Inland Empire ranked 11th nationally by 247Sports.com in the Class of 2025. The junior is among the highest rated prep basketball prospects to ever visit SDSU.
Majak may commit as soon as next week. Burries is far earlier in the process and is touring schools in an unofficial capacity — his family pays for it, not the school — to narrow down a growing list of suitors.
Burries has already been to Duke and Houston, and he’s expected to take unofficials to Arizona and Ohio State this fall. UCLA, USC, Kansas and Alabama have all offered him scholarships.
There are several connections to SDSU. Assistant coach Chris Acker grew up in the Inland Empire playing pickup ball with Burries’ father, Bobby, who starred at Cal State San Bernardino and was inducted into its Hall of Fame.
Brayden Burries started his high school career at Riverside Poly High School, where current SDSU guard Lamont Butler is the all-time leading scorer, and has since transferred to Roosevelt High in nearby Eastvale, where former Aztecs wing Matt Mitchell played.
The Inland Empire has long been a basketball pipeline for SDSU. Kawhi Leonard grew up in Moreno Valley and played at Riverside Martin Luther King High. Matt Bradley, JJ O’Brien and Jeremy Hemsley are from Rancho Cucamonga. Marcus Slaughter is from Riverside.
Typically, recruiting for high school juniors heats up in the spring following the season. But Burries’ recruitment could be accelerated if, since he’s a year older, he reclassifies and graduates with the Class of 2024 — an option he has openly discussed.
SDSU already has one commitment for 2024 in versatile 6-5 wing Taj Degourville from Las Vegas. Pharaoh Compton, a bruising 6-8 forward who plays on Degourville’s club team, visited last month and has the Aztecs in his final five alongside LSU, Tennessee, Iowa and UNLV. Brody Kozlowski, a 6-7 shooter from Utah, has visited as well.
Burries and Majak are expected to attend the football game tonight at Snapdragon Stadium against Boise State, but they won’t see a basketball practice. The team is off until Monday, when official preseason practice begins ahead of the Nov. 6 opener against Cal State Fullerton. Teams are allowed 30 practices over the six weeks before their first game.