Ranking the Contenders: Four-star Jamarion Batemon
Four-star guard Jamarion Batemon is set to come off the board on July 1, when the Milwaukee Academy of Science standout will publicly announce his college choice.
Officially, Batemon has narrowed his list to include Clemson, Marquette, Iowa State and West Virginia. Not all of those programs stand on equal footing, however. Below, Rivals.com’s Rob Cassidy explores Batemon’s recruitment and ranks his final four schools in order of how likely they are to land his pledge.
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1. IOWA STATE
The vibes radiating from Ames concerning Batemon have been overwhelmingly positive for some time, and optimism seems to be growing as we inch closer to the four-star’s July 1 decision. Batemon has been on campus at Iowa State on multiple occasions and seems more comfortable there with each passing month. There’s still some concern over a possible late push from Marquette, but the Cyclones seem to like where they stand for the time being. Batemon went on record stating that Iowa State was the front-runner in his process back in late January and while the race with the Golden Eagles seems to have tightened a bit since, T.J. Otzelberger’s program should still be seen as the front-runner.
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2. MARQUETTE
Marquette feels like the only legitimate threat to swoop in and steal Batemon’s pledge from Iowa State. The Milwaukee-based four-star has a strong bond with the in-state Golden Eagles and has been on campus. He seems enamored by how Shaka Smart utilizes his guards and speaks about fit every time he's asked about the program. Marquette may be running solidly in second, but Smart and company could conceivably topple the Cyclones down the stretch seeing as though the staff was still watching the guard during the last live period and is clearly yet to waive the white flag.
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3. WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia is on the outside looking in when it comes to Batemon's recruitment and it seems unlikely that the Mountaineers will push into the top two before decision day. Somebody has to finish third, however, and it feels as though it’s destined to be head coach Darian DeVries and company in this case.
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4. CLEMSON
The Tigers were a bit late to the party, making things official with a scholarship offer less than a month ago. There seems to be some real interest on Batemon’s part, but it’s extremely unlikely that the Tigers will be the pick come Monday.