Basketball recruiting: Will JT Thor or Donovan Williams pick Oklahoma State?

The next 48 hours will be big for Oklahoma State basketball as its top two remaining targets for the 2020 class are both set to announce their decisions.

First up will be four-star power forward JT Thor, who moved his announcement up from Monday to 11 a.m. Sunday. The decision has come down to OSU, Auburn, and maybe UCLA (there’s some mixed reporting as to whether or not the Bruins are in the running).

Thor will be followed by three-star shooting guard Donovan Williams, who will make his decision Monday night. OSU is one of three finalists, along with fellow Big 12 schools Kansas State and Texas.

Both players would be beneficial for OSU for different reasons.

Williams is the better shooter, something OSU’s roster is on short supply of. 247 Sports Director of Basketball Scouting Jerry Meyer notes Williams’ ability to score everywhere on the court.

“Scores from all three levels and can make tough shots in traffic. Has a good feel for the game and is a quality ball handler and passer.”

As for Thor, it’s hard to turn down a player of his talent. Rivals ranks him as the 56th best prospect in the 2020 class, and as the 10th best power forward in America. 247 has him as the 54th best player in the class and the 8th ranked power forward.

“The 6-foot-10 senior is the definition of a new age forward,” writes Rivals basketball recruiting analyst Corey Evans. “...can play facing the basket and shoot to 18-feet, possesses underrated passing skills, and defend near and away from the rim in the half-court setting.”

Corey Evans joined Joel and myself on the CRFF pod to talk about both players, and made his prediction that Thor is the one who ends up at Oklahoma State.

But here’s the thing; The 2020 class has one open scholarship remaining, so barring something unexpected (a decommitment or transfer), only one of these two prospects will be the final piece in a loaded group of players that currently ranks first in the Big 12 and 10th nationally.

A commitment from Thor would bump the Cowboys up to sixth nationally, while Williams would only see OSU move up to ninth.

So who does OSU land? Nick Barlow and myself have our predictions.

Predictions

Phillip Slavin: Williams has already told his team where he is committing to, and I get the feeling it’s Kansas State. I think he was all in for OSU, but when they got the call from Thor, OSU let Williams know they wouldn’t have a spot for him. Now, that’s assuming Thor picks OSU and stays with that decision. That’s what most recruiting experts think will happen and have though for some time. But Thor was an OSU lean, reclassified to play in college, then considered going pro, then decided to go to college, then Auburn came hard. It’s been hard to pin down Thor. I kind of want to predict that OSU lands neither, but I’ll say Cowboys coach Mike Boynton wraps up his 2020 recruiting class with Thor.

Nick Barlow: With all the K-State love Williams has received in the past few days, coupled with the fact sources have said he’s already privately committed to a school, I think OSU misses out on him. Considering how excited he seemed to be at the prospect of playing alongside Cade Cunningham, I’m hoping this is a sign OSU backed off Williams knowing Thor was coming and they wouldn’t have enough scholarships to go around. Of the two, I certainly believe Thor is more likely.