No surprises here, as all four men have been committed to Shaka Smart and the Golden Eagles since at least August if not longer.
Wednesday brought along a little bonus Marquette men’s basketball news, as it was the start of the fall signing period for Class of 2025 prospects. All four of Marquette’s signees were officially announced by lunchtime in Milwaukee, so let’s dig into what head coach Shaka Smart has to say about all of next season’s freshmen.
In fact, here’s what he said in a statement about the group of them:
“Very, very excited about the four individuals that we’re adding to our program today, the four families they come from and excited about their passion for relationships, growth and victory,” Smart said. ”There’s a compliment that they provide to our team, most importantly, and then also with each other. Anytime you bring in a class, you want them to fit with each other, but you also want them to fit the greater team and you base that in a lot of ways off of who you’re losing.”
In order of signing announcements:
Nigel James
First the press release rundown of his background:
James Jr. (6-0, 180) is rated as high as 90th nationally by 247Sports.com and competes under head coach John Buck at Long Island Lutheran High School. As a junior at LuHi, he averaged 11.9 points and 4.3 assists per game in the team’s 12 outings in the EYBL Scholastic League. He began his career at Cushing Academy and advanced to the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council title game, falling to current MU guard Tre Norman and Worcester Academy. James played on the EYBL circuit for Expressions Elite.
And the Shaka quotes:
“Nigel brings speed, quickness, explosiveness and decision making,” Smart said. ”He’s a point guard and knowing the ball is in his hands makes you feel good, knowing he’s going to create for others.
“It never hurts to have multiple guys on the floor who are very sure with the ball in their hands and can make good decisions,” Smart added. ”Defensively, he can really be a pest. I’d love to see him and Sean (Jones) on the court together. It would be the smallest backcourt out there, but what I have learned over the years is that those types of guys, with that type of heart, more than make up for any lack of size. When guys like Nigel and Sean have toughness, grit, heart and a great mind, they really have a chance.”
James committed to Marquette in July of this year. He is currently ranked #111 in the country by the 247 Sports Composite, #98 by the On3 Industry Ranking, and #121 by Rivals.
Adrien Stevens
First the press release rundown of his background:
Stevens (6-4, 195) is ranked as the 84th-best player in the country by 247Sports.com and has played at Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland under head coach Bruce Kelley since his sophomore season. Stevens helped the Bulldogs to back-to-back Interstate Athletic Conference (IAC) regular season and tournament titles and scored a team-high 14 points in the championship matchup as a junior, earning conference player of the year accolades in the process. He was named All-IAC and first team all-metro by the Washington Post after averaging 14.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He played on the UAA circuit for WeR1.
And the Shaka quotes:
“Adrien’s a lot like Stevie (Mitchell) as a person,” Smart said. ”Incredible student, incredible leader. Very, very thoughtful, very, very smart. He cares about his teammates. He’s got toughness, similar to Stevie. It’s not like we were saying, hey, we’ve got to find a Stevie clone, but if we had said that, this is about as close as you’re going to get, Adrien’s a little bit bigger, a little bit thicker, probably even more physical at that age.
“He’s a guy who can play either guard position,” Smart added. ”He’s good handling the ball, he can play the pick and roll and he can shoot the ball. He’s very good on the catch and shoot and defensively, he’s something else.”
Stevens made his commitment to Marquette in August of this year. He is currently ranked #132 by the 247 Sports Composite, #107 by the On3 Industry Ranking, and #109 by Rivals.
Ian Miletic
First the press release rundown of his background:
Miletic (6-7, 180) is in his fourth season of varsity action at Rolling Meadows High School in suburban Chicago under head coach Kevin Katovich. Miletic (MILL-eh-tick) averaged 19.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game as a junior and was named the program’s most valuable player. He was an all-conference and all-area honoree in 2023-24 and also claimed all-state accolades. In his three-year tenure on varsity, the Mustangs are 29-1 in their division. He competed on the UAA circuit with the Illinois Wolves.
And the Shaka quotes:
“Neill Berry did a great job early on evaluating Ian and it was really clear he was our type of guy,” Smart said. ”He really, really cares about relationships and he’s one of the best leaders at that age that I’ve seen with his high school group.
“He’s really growing, on a great trajectory and serious about his growth,” Smart added. ”He puts a lot of time and energy into his growth and he cares deeply about winning, so the fact that he’s aligned with those core values means a lot.”
Miletic was the first Class of 2025 prospect to commit to Marquette, making his pledge in June of this year. He’s currently ranked #153 by the 247 Sports Composite and #201 by the On3 Industry Ranking. Yes, the lack of attention from ESPN and Rivals is hurting him here.
Michael Phillips II
First the press release rundown of his background:
Phillips II (6-6, 175) plays under head coach DeShannon Morris at GRACE Christian School and reclassified into the 2025 recruiting class. In 2023-24, he averaged 15.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest and helped the Eagles to a 27-8 overall record and the league title. He was named All-Capital City Conference and was named the school’s most outstanding athlete. As a sophomore, he contributed 16.2 points per contest and in the last two years, the Eagles are 15-1 in conference play. He competed on the EYBL circuit for Boo Williams and was named the top player at the 2024 EYBL event held in St. Louis.
And the Shaka quotes:
“Michael can shoot it from deep,” Smart said. ”He can really rise up and comes off screens off the ball as well as any young player that I have seen.
“He has great length and blocks a lot of shots,” Smart added. “He likes playing defense, which is important and is also very, very smart in terms of his IQ for the game. He has a way of knowing when things are important and learning and locking in on those things, on and off the court.”
Phillips announced his commitment to Marquette at the same time that he announced his reclassification to the Class of 2025, and the day in question happened to be his 17th birthday in early August. Yes, that means he’ll have just barely turned 18 by the time the 2025-26 school year starts. He’s currently ranked #166 by the 247 Sports Composite and #195 by the On3 Industry Rankings.
Let’s wrap up with the scholarship chart:
A couple of notes on there: I have not moved Josh Clark or Al Amadou relative to their redshirt status for the 2024-25 season. You’re not actually officially redshirting until you finish the year without playing, so they’ll stay in the class you see above until the offseason.
Second, I want you to notice the one scholarship available for the 2025-26 school year. There’s two things attached to that. First, the scholarship chart is showing the 15 player maximum that is expected to go into effect next year when the House settlement with the NCAA gets finalized. If that does not happen, then the limit is still 13 and MU currently projects to be one player over. If the settlement is finalized, then MU is one player under…… but I wouldn’t expect Shaka Smart to look too deeply at the transfer portal to fill it. If something else changes the roster unexpectedly — Chase Ross continues averaging 15/6/4 and 3 steals while shooting 50% from long range and turns into an NBA prospect, for example — then maybe we’ll see some portal activity. For now, though: Prepare for nothing to happen for the fourth straight year.