Isaac Brown lands first recruiting commitment as Wichita State men’s basketball coach
Isaac Brown didn’t have to look far for his first recruit as head coach of the Wichita State men’s basketball team.
Colby Community College sophomore Matt McFarlane, a 6-foot-10 center, verbally committed to the Shockers on Thursday. The Philadelphia native is the first prospect in WSU’s 2021 recruiting class, which is expected to have six scholarships available.
The timing couldn’t have been better, as McFarlane’s commitment comes just hours after redshirt freshman center Josaphat Bilau’s decision to transfer. With junior center Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler also in the transfer portal, WSU was on the hunt to add to its desired three-center rotation with incumbent starter Morris Udeze.
In McFarlane, WSU believes it has found a shot-blocking, rebound-grabbing center who can hold his own against the big bodies found across the American Athletic Conference. That potential was why Brandon Goble, who runs the twitter account @JUCOadvocate with more than 28,000 followers, picked McFarlane as one of his 10 best junior college players before this season.
McFarlane was a two-year starter at Colby, where he averaged 10.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.1 blocks in 26.7 minutes per game this past season. He shot 53.7% from the field and 64.4% from the foul line. In the 2019-20 season, McFarlane averaged 11.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.8 blocks in 20.7 minutes per game with shooting percentages of 50.9% from the field and 70.9% from the line.
WSU beat out the likes of Loyola-Chicago, South Carolina, St. John’s and Colorado for McFarlane, as his recruiting was beginning to take off this spring. WSU assistant coach Lou Gudino was the lead recruiter on McFarlane.
McFarlane has had a long, winding road to reach Wichita. He was a standout high school player at Fels in Philadelphia, where he was chosen an all-league player his senior season in 2017. He spent time at Baltimore City Community College after high school, but did not play until he arrived at Colby for the past two seasons. He will four years removed from high school when he plays for WSU this upcoming season as a sophomore.
The lone highlight video of him on YouTube shows McFarlane running the floor, swatting shots, showing off deft touch with right-hand post moves and even the occasional mid-range jumper.
The rim protection and defensive rebounding that McFarlane could potentially provide would intrigue WSU the most after a season where the Shockers were a below-average team doing both of those things in conference play. McFarlane’s length and athleticism allow him to rise above crowds to secure rebounds, to recover on defense to swipe shots away from behind, and leave his man to block guards driving to the rim. Just last week, McFarlane blocked seven shots in a game against Garden City.
But sometimes McFarlane relies on his length a little bit too much and is caught out of position trying to defend centers. According to Synergy, McFarlane allowed 1.19 points per possession on post-up attempts, which ranked in the seventh percentile nationally.
On the offensive end, McFarlane ranked in the 96th percentile in scoring off offensive rebound putbacks and also rated as very good in transition and post-up opportunities.
McFarlane will be able to sign with WSU in the spring signing period that begins April 14.
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 2:32 PM.
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