Bamisile is on the rise
Northwestern identified 2020 commitment Joe Bamisile's talent early in the recruiting process. Now it seems like the rest of the basketball recruiting world is catching up.
The 6-foot-4, 195-pound combo guard from Chesterfield County (Va.) Monacan was one of the highest risers in the latest Rivals150 released on Tuesday. Bamisile went from a three-star to a four-star prospect and jumped 33 spots, from No. 106 to No. 73. Only nine players in the entire list had a bigger leap in the ratings.
Bamisile, who committed to Northwestern on April 17, is getting recognition in other ways, too. He participated in last weekend's Jay Bilas Skills Camp, where he was named one of the top performers and got some time on camera.
This week, Bamisile is competing in the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp at the University of Virginia.
Bamisile's jump in Rivals' rankings shouldn't come as much of a surprise -- Rivals basketball recruiting analyst Corey Evans is one of his biggest fans. Evans said that Bamisile's commitment to head coach Chris Collins was more than a steal; he called it "a heist."
"Pure scoring guard. Super-long arms. Tough as hell. Big time-athlete," he told WildcatReport. "Can really get it going via the jumper. Can be an immediate scoring piece at the highest level."
That could be just what the Wildcats lead coming off of a disappointing 13-19 (4-16 Big Ten) season that saw them finish dead-last in the league in scoring.
The only drawback is that Bamisile won't start his Northwestern career until 2020-21.
Bamisile's No. 73 ranking would right now be the third-highest-rated recruit for Collins at Northwestern. Only Miller Kopp (No. 66 in 2018) and Pete Nance (67 in 2018) were ranked higher.
But don't count Bamisile out yet. He still has time to climb.