Crowe gives Tigers highest-rated recruit since MPJ

Top-five enlistee Jason Crowe Jr. announced his committedness to Missouri connected Friday, becoming the Tigers' highest-ranked enlistee successful astir a decade.

Crowe ne'er released an authoritative schoolhouse list, though Kentucky, USC, Texas and others were each successful pursuit of the elite scoring guard.

"Since aboriginal July, I person felt a beardown committedness to Missouri," Crowe told ESPN. "And with contiguous being my birthday, I thought it was the cleanable infinitesimal to marque it official."

For astir of the past fewer months, Kentucky and USC were believed to beryllium the favorites for Crowe. Crowe's begetter played with Kentucky adjunct Jason Hart and the 2 stay friends, portion USC made him a precedence aboriginal successful the cycle.

But Dennis Gates and the Tigers made a beardown propulsion implicit the past six weeks aft offering him a assistance successful June.

"Coach Gates is simply a phenomenal manager and person, and his unit are large people," Crowe said. "Our archetypal speech happened during the USA tryouts. He was truly genuine. We talked astir household and connected connected a meaningful level. Coach Gates is simply a family-first person. On the court, he's high-energy and competitive."

A 6-foot-3 imaginable from Inglewood High School (California), Crowe is considered the No. 1 constituent defender successful the 2026 people and is ranked No. 4 successful the ESPN 100. He becomes Missouri's highest-ranked committedness since Michael Porter Jr. picked the Tigers successful the people of 2017.

Crowe leads the Nike EYBL successful scoring, averaging 23.6 points successful regular-season play -- scoring much than 30 points connected 4 abstracted occasions.

Crowe is possibly the champion scorer successful the class. A left-handed scoring constituent guard, helium thrives successful transition. He has a balanced and controlled jumper, whether he's shooting disconnected the dribble oregon successful catch-and-shoot situations. Crowe possesses an uncanny quality to stroke past defenders and complements it with a prime midrange crippled and susceptible shooting from deep. He besides converts good from the escaped propulsion enactment and gets determination frequently.

His passing imaginativeness is noticeable disconnected his penetration and his ball-screen reads are strong, adjacent though helium tin get escaped and casual with the shot astatine times.

Crowe is the archetypal committedness successful Missouri's 2026 class, though the Tigers are besides successful pursuit of chap five-star imaginable Toni Bryant.

"The University of Missouri is simply a assemblage municipality that takes large pridefulness successful its sports teams," Crowe said. "Without an NBA squad nearby, the absorption is connected school, hoops and being portion of a close-knit community. I americium excited to spell determination and beryllium an impactful player."