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Kevin Knox making official visit to Missouri

By Eric Quackenbush

Mar 26, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; McDonalds High School All-American forward Kevin Knox II (23) poses for a photo during the 2017 McDonalds All American Game Portrait Day at Chicago Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2017; Chicago, IL, USA; McDonalds High School All-American forward Kevin Knox II (23) poses for a photo during the 2017 McDonalds All American Game Portrait Day at Chicago Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s official: Blue-chipper Kevin Knox will make his final official visit to Missouri, before making his decision on where he will commit to play basketball in 2017.

Pinch yourselves, Missouri fans; check your calendars–this is no April Fool joke.

Kevin Knox, the blue chip athlete out of Tampa, Florida, who also has offers from programs such as Duke, Carolina, Villanova, kansas, and Kentucky, announced via Twitter, that he will visit Mizzou on April 8th and 9th.

Knox will be one-of-two McDonald’s All-American who will visit Columbia next week, when Coach Martin will try to woo Missouri’s second-most coveted recruit.

"Final Visit to the University of Missouri on April 8th and 9th #GoTigers"

Missouri Tigers Basketball
Missouri Tigers Basketball /

Missouri Tigers Basketball

Missouri fans have a lot to be excited about! Two weeks ago, I was more intrigued than excited by the hiring of Cuonzo Martin. Enter a man who has built a fairly successful career, and made programs relevant.

After his first four days evaluating what needed to be done to make Missouri competitive again, Martin hit the recruiting trail.

Somewhere between that time and last Thursday, Martin offered an assistant’s job to Michael Porter, Sr., who had just been released from his position at the University of Washington.

What better opportunity to bring the elder Porter back home, and the odds may very well be that Martin’s strategy in offering Porter a position might also cause Michael Porter, Jr. to flip his commitment from Washington to Missouri.

I don’t believe that Martin would have recruited Porter, Jr. on his own devices. The fact that Porter, Jr. will play basketball for Missouri really occurred as a series of events from the dismissal of Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar.

Had Romar retained his job, the chances of Porter, Sr. leaving were as unlikely as Missouri ever having a chance at landing Porter, Jr., who was already committed to Washington at that time, anyway.

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That’s not a knock on Martin, who is not a bad recruiter, by any means. But he had his opportunity to make Porter, Sr. an offer, he seized the opportunity, and it worked. Porter, Jr. flipped his commitment a day later, and has also been actively recruiting immensely talented players for Missouri, as well.

If Knox decides to commit to Mizzou, then it will set the Tigers up to recruit players who may have seemed out of “Missouri’s league.” The amount of success the program has the potential to reap from two majorly talented athletes, and the opportunities it will give players like Kevin Puryear, will be unlike any other class the Tigers have assembled.

There is also a likely possibility that Missouri will receive a commitment from Jontay Porter, Michael Porter’s younger brother, next year. Jontay’s commitment will keep Porter, Jr.’s services for at least one more season, and the Tigers will assemble another recruiting class, and return some talented weapons from 2017, as well.

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