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Northwestern basketball recruiting update: Who gets the last scholarship?

Who will take the spot on the Wildcats' roster vacated by Johnnie Vassar?

By Zach Pereles
Dave Weaver-USA TODAY Sports

After Johnnie Vassar's departure, questions immediately swirled about what the next step would be for Chris Collins and his suddenly incomplete recruiting update. Joey van Zegeren will join three freshmen in Evanston next season, but the Wildcats still have several options to fill up that final spot. If you're wondering how the scholarship situation currently stands, you can find that here. The following guys are distinct possibilities to join the Wildcats.

Kipper Nichols seemed like the frontrunner for this spot at one point, but it no longer seems very likely that the Cleveland-area product will be in Evanston last year. According to 247sports, Tulane is the most likely landing spot at this point, but Butler is making a late push as well.

There are two other possible incoming freshmen: Jahshire Hardnett, Tajae Anderson. Although neither has an offer according to 247, Verbal Commits has both of them holding offers and "medium interest" in Northwestern. Both are projected point guards, and given that Northwestern has no true backup point guard, Coach Collins' bunch could be an appealing option.

That leaves the possibility of point guard Marcus Marshall. The Missouri State transfer averaged 19.5 ppg last year as a junior, but was suspended in January following disagreements with his coach, and a few days later decided to leave the program. Marshal would certainly be a huge get for Collins. Northwestern is showing interest, but so are several other schools.

Perhaps Collins is doing something in the shadows, but at this point, it seems like a backcourt partner or backup to Bryant McIntosh is the most likely option. Nichols and Marshall appear to be the two best options.

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