TexasHoops Weekly: Cryer commits to Baylor, looking ahead to rankings

This week’s blog looks at the commitment of LJ Cryer to Baylor to start their 2020 recruiting class, and previews the release of our updated rankings for the 2020 and 2021 classes.

**Editor’s note: an earlier version of this story has been updated to include an exclusive interview with Cryer

Katy Morton Ranch product LJ Cryer made it known last night that he would be committing to Baylor after an unofficial visit to Waco on Sunday. Cryer is currently the no.3 ranked prospect in the state’s class of 2020, and although he’s been sidelined with injuries for the last few months, his future at the next level always looked bound to be at a power 5 school.

When we last spoke during the fall, Cryer had a total of 20 offers to his name, though over recent months he seems to have focused in on a few specific schools. Cryer had officially visited LSU and Purdue last fall, while Houston, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M were all firmly in the mix for his commitment.

TexasHoops staff caught up with Cryer after his announcement, with the Houston guard speaking about his visit from over the weekend, saying that Baylor “Felt like home and I had a fun time there. It wasn’t too much of a difference from my past visits there because I’ve been a thousand times.”

Cryer also pointed to a strong relationship with head coach Scott Drew as a determining factor, describing the relationship with the coaching staff as such:

“I have a strong relationship with Coach Drew and the rest of the staff. They have been recruiting me since I was in 8th grade so our relationship has gotten better each year.”

Cryer also expanded on the kind of role the staff sees for him in Waco, saying:

“I’ll be able to play with freedom and help impact the team right away. I also know they’ll push me to accomplish my dreams.”

For Baylor, this represents a marquee commitment for the first addition to their 2020 class, something they hope to compound with another top-10 player in Jonathan Aku, whom they just offered over the weekend.

With this college decision now off his back, the focus for Cryer now will be to regain his health to play in the Peach Jam next month, and to prepare for a senior campaign at Morton Ranch where the Mavericks will be among the top teams in the state.

TexasHoops staff have been working around the clock to hash out the June updated rankings for the 2020 and 2021 classes, with several big decisions needing to be made. For 2020, it seems that with RJ Hampton going to the Australian League, the top spot has 5-star Greg Brown’s name all over it, but who follows him up? Will it be Micah Peavy, the reigning 6A State Championship MVP and top-10 in both rebounds and scoring on the EYBL? 6-foot-11 Jonathan Aku as he has really began to show some scoring touch and dominate games with his back to the basket? Or a guard like Cryer or Houston commit Tramon Mark, who can both explode for 30+ on any given night?

In the 2021 class the top spot is much harder to pin down, with several contenders making their case. The incumbent no.1 KJ Adams has been strong this summer, though he’s playing on the 16u level while competitors run on the 17’s. Langston Love is averaging 20+ points per game on the EYBL and took home underclassman of the session at the Dallas leg of the event. If we’re looking at offer sheets, Harrison Ingram has a strong case to be top dog with double digit offers from the likes of Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and UCLA to name just a few. Jerrell Colbert and Arthur Kaluma have also made strong cases when evaluated this year, and will certainly factor into the discussion.

With rankings due out in the coming weeks, you’ll have the answers soon enough