Ranking the Contenders: Brandon Weston
A four-star prospect, wing Brandon Weston is down to a final six of Illinois, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Wake Forest and Western Illinois.
Originally from New York, Weston’s high school career has taken him to Wisconsin, Illinois and now the Phoenix area for his senior year. He’s an athletic wing who had a big junior season at Chicago (Ill.) Morgan Park.
Which program has the upper hand? That’s a great question as Weston hasn’t given any public hints. After a few days of digging behind the scenes and talking to sources all across the Rivals.com network, we rank the contenders for his services.
1. ILLINOIS
The Illini have Weston’s former teammate Adam Miller on campus for his freshman season and there is no doubting that he is familiar with the rest of the Illinois program. The Illini do have a wing committed in Luke Goode but he plays a completely different style than Weston so they could play together. The biggest question here may be how necessary Brad Underwood and his staff feel landing another wing is.
2. SETON HALL
From the sounds of it, Kevin Willard and the Pirates have been doing some work here. Picking the Hall would allow Weston to play close to his home and stylistically he is a good fit for playing in the Big East. Rivals150 wing Tyler Powell has already committed, but there’s no reason that he and Weston couldn’t play alongside each other.
3. WESTERN ILLINOIS
There may be some eye-rolls out there when reading this, but Western shouldn’t be slept on in this situation. They have Weston’s former point guard Marcus Watson on campus as a freshman and assistant coach Nick Irvin was Weston’s high school coach last season at Morgan Park. We’ve seen highly-ranked players become more and more comfortable with making a decision that is outside of what they’ve been traditionally expected to do. Is Weston next?
4. PITTSBURGH
Jeff Capel is never somebody that you want to underestimate on the recruiting trail. He’s adding talent and rebuilding the Panthers program. They are definitely in the mix with Weston it is just a matter of there being room enough. If transfer Nike Sibande plays this season instead of redshirting, things could be much more open. If not he’d be on the roster along with 2020 recruits Femi Odukale, William Jeffress and others. Could Weston think things are a little too crowded on the wing?
5. WAKE FOREST
Wake Forest’s recruitment of Weston goes back to Danny Manning’s regime and of his finalists, they’ve been recruiting him the longest. New coach Steve Forbes plays a style that has need for athletes like Weston, but he’s also never really had a chance to see Weston in person. Without the ability to meet in person and conduct a more personal visit, can Forbes and his staff build the relationship needed?
6. MICHIGAN
Juwan Howard has been making some strong moves on the recruiting trail and has helped to keep Michigan relevant with today’s top recruits. The question would be just how much of a need Weston is for the Wolverines at this point. He’s a Big Ten player and certainly capable of playing in Ann Arbor. But, after taking Jace Howard and Terrance Williams in 2020 and already landing Kobe Bufkin and Isaiah Barnes in 2021 will Michigan continue to prioritize landing another wing?