Football had enough fun on the recruiting trail this weekend, and now it’s basketball’s turn.
Julian Roper, a 2021 shooting guard from Franklin, Michigan, verbally committed to NU Monday afternoon in a video on his Instagram page. He ranks the fourth-best player in his state and 136th nationally by 247sports.
247 classifies him as a three-star prospect with a composite rating of 0.9167.
Roper chose Northwestern over a slew of other Big Ten offers, including Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Ohio State. The final decision was thought to be between NU and the Badgers, with Wisconsin considered the favorite to land him until last week, when both Rivals and 247 predicted he’d choose Evanston over Madison. Roper’s teammate at St. Mary’s, Lorne Bowman, will become a Badger this fall.
The 6-foot-3, 183-pound guard is the first 2021 commit and a solid get for Chris Collins, who’s trying to reel in more than one big talent in this recruiting cycle. NU’s head coach has offered six other uncommitted prospects, including heralded five-stars Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Max Christie, in what he hopes could be a program-defining recruiting class.
The Detroit area native played a key role in a 20-1 season for St. Mary’s before the postseason was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. His highlights from the 2018-19 season can be viewed below.