What Would Landing Donovan Williams Do to OSU’s 2020 Class?

Oklahoma State is (and has been) flirting with an all-time recruiting coup when it comes to the class of 2020. If Cade Cunningham was the only player they’d landed, that alone would have been enough to call it a success. But other pieces have fallen into place that have provided a life preserver to fans looking for a future hope.

Montreal Pena, Rondel Walker and (most recently) Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe have boosted OSU’s class up into the top 10 in the country. They’re the No. 1 Big 12 team (a big deal) and possibly not done yet.

As many of you are aware Donovan Williams is slated to visit Stillwater on March 20. He’s a top-150 guy who would add to this tremendous class.

But just how much would he add? Would it really bump OSU that much to land the No. 28 shooting guard in the country? I love playing with the recruiting calculator on 247 — it’s like our own little college-themed trade machine — so I ran the figures on Williams.

If OSU landed him today, it would move into the No. 9 position nationally (up from No. 10). Just ahead of Gonzaga and just behind NC State. However, if OSU were to land him and somebody like JT Thor — whose recruitment remains more mysterious than the death of JFK — then that would move them up to No. 6 nationally behind Kentucky, Duke, Carolina, Michigan and Tennessee. Crazy.

If you have to pick (thankfully you don’t) then you’d pick somebody like Thor because he’s more highly-ranked but also because he provides some size OSU needs. However, after watching approximately 78 seconds of film on Williams, I think he’s more college-ready than most, which is a big allure given the importance of next season. His body seems mature (I’m a 34-year-old man, nbd), his game looks fundamentally sound and in our interaction with him, he’s known how to deal with the media in a way most high school seniors do not.

One question is whether Williams represents a redundancy on your roster if you’re Oklahoma State? The answer (as with most answers!) is maybe, maybe not.

If you land Williams and have Cunningham at point guard next year then all of a sudden you have a collection of Avery Anderson, Isaac Likekele, Walker, Williams and Chris Harris that you have to shoehorn into one and a half positions. Unless of course you go mega-small and play Cunningham, Likekele and Walker (or some combination of three guards) together at the same time.

Regardless, you’re not just recruiting for one year. Mike Boynton has to think about LAC (Life After Cade), and Williams represents a solid piece in what is quickly becoming a class full of them.

(As long as nobody transfers or gets kicked off the team ?).