HARBOR CITY, Calif. — In recent months, Narbonne forward Marcus Adams Jr. has made waves with his play and Wednesday he announced his top five schools.
Mississippi State, Oregon, Syracuse, Texas and UCLA made the cut, and the school the 6-foot-8 wing ultimately selects will determine whether he remains in the 2024 class or re-classifies as a 2023 recruit.
“So far, I’m still ’24 and I have a lot of time to decide if I’m staying in this class or I’m going to go to ’23,” he told Bruin Blitz after scoring 23 points to go with 13 rebounds and five steals in his team’s 47-38 win over Gardena-Serra.
The decision stems from Adams Jr.‘s one year at a prep school in Corona before returning to Narbonne, where he played his freshman and sophomore seasons. He is still awaiting the final determination on a transcript, which also is the reason UCLA is the lone school in the top five yet to formally offer a scholarship.
Thus far, only Syracuse has hosted him on an official visit. He was on campus Sunday and attended Monday’s game against Virginia.
Since returning to Narbonne, Adams Jr. has been on a stat-stuffing tear en route to averaging 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. As a result, his recruitment has gained more and more national attention, and Dinos Trigonis, who runs the famed Pangos All-American Camp, considers him “one of the fastest rising, most skilled forwards in the nation.”
Against smaller defenders, he is quick to post up and attack the basket, with the patience and willingness to find the open shooter when the defense collapses. Adams Jr. also can handle the ball and looks just as comfortable shooting stepback 3-pointers. When smaller teams attempt to play more physically, Adams Jr. has shown he will not back down while maintaining his composure.
On the defensive end, he has a knack for anticipating while playing the passing lanes for steals and deflections.
On the AAU travel ball circuit, Adams Jr. spends his time with both the Elev8 Elite and Compton Magic programs. The latter has had several alums play at the Division I level, including current Bruins Jaylen Clark and Dylan Andrews, and notable NBA products include former USC forward and top-three 2021 NBA draft pick Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“They’re a big program, they play the best of the competition,” said Adams Jr., who otherwise sees a drop-off in talent against the South Bay’s Marine League.
Adams Jr. went through what stands out about each of the five schools for Bruin Blitz, including where things stand with UCLA in the process, and his estimated timeline for a decision:
