MJ Cage picks Oregon over SDSU – The San Diego Union-Tribune
MJ Cage, the 6-foot-10 son of San Diego State great Michael Cage, unexpectedly announced his commitment Saturday.
He’s going to Oregon.
Cage and his father were not immediately available for comment, but his high school coach confirmed the news and Cage Sr. retweeted reports of it on his Twitter page.
Most recruiting insiders had the Aztecs and Arizona as favorites for the versatile post from Santa Ana Mater Dei High rated a four-star prospect by the major recruiting services. Then Arizona cooled on its interest (as did Kentucky), and a report surfaced Sept. 15 that the NCAA was in the early stages of examining potential rules violations by SDSU’s basketball program.
Cage took an official recruiting trip to Montezuma Mesa in early September and Oregon two weeks later. There was talk that he might visit Oregon State as well next month, but he never got to Corvallis.
The big question is what impact, if any, the NCAA cloud had on SDSU’s chances and whether Cage’s decision might deter other recruits from picking the Aztecs. Cage becomes the fourth player offered a scholarship by SDSU to commit elsewhere since the NCAA news first broke, although the Aztecs were not considered frontrunners for guards DeAnthony Melton (USC) or Jaylen Hands (UCLA) and they had backed off Carlos Johnson (UNLV).
The Aztecs already have one commitment from the class of 2016 – 6-9 forward Jalen McDaniels from the Seattle area – and he insists “I’m not going anywhere (else).” That leaves them with two available scholarships for 2016-17, and they’re finalists for four other high school seniors: Foothills Christian forward T.J. Leaf; guard Jonah Mathews; forward Trevor Stanback; and wing Brendan Bailey.
It is the latest instance of the Ducks and Aztecs bumping heads on the recruiting trail. Last February, 6-7 wing Keith Smith committed to SDSU only to decommit and then quickly pick Oregon instead. In August, Oregon was favored to get Missouri transfer Montaque “Teki” Gill-Caesar; he enrolled at SDSU instead. Now the Ducks get Cage.
Cage was tantalizing for Aztecs fans because of his famous father. As a prospect, though, he was less so, dramatically sliding in recruiting rankings this year. Scout.com lowered him from 24th to 41th and now 60th. On Rivals.com, he went from 22nd to 37th to 54th. On ESPN, he went from 36th to out of the Top 100.
Some cited Cage’s reluctance to play on a high-level club team against the nation’s top prospects during the spring and summer recruiting periods. Others, while intrigued by his upside, privately questioned his toughness and true love of the game.
Either way, three weeks ago it appeared Cage might follow in his father’s footsteps. His sister, Alexis, is a sophomore outside hitter on the SDSU volleyball team and said in the days before his visit: “I would love for him to join me here. I know it’s definitely one of his top options. We are very close because we are so close in age. He talks all the time about it … I’m rooting for us.”
SDSU was the first school to recruit Cage. Oregon made a big push only recently.
“San Diego State has been there from the beginning,” Cage Sr. told the Union-Tribune earlier this month. “That’s resonated with MJ, that they’ve been pursuing him and stayed after him and made it clear to him that he’s always been a priority. He sees that. He sees value in that.”
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