Five-star junior Malaki Branham set to announce Wednesday
On Sunday afternoon, five-star junior Malaki Branham told Stockrisers.com that he will announce his college decision on Wednesday afternoon at 2:22 P.M. The Ohio native had built strong relationships across the country while he was being recruited but will now choose one program and take yet another five-star off the board.
Branham has many schools involved but the ones to watch here are Xavier, Louisville, Ohio State, Baylor, and Alabama.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Branham was able to take two final visits to Ohio State and Louisville, both of which were of the unofficial capacity but obviously it was likely an official visit would be planned for both but the pandemic put those chances to rest.
He also has taken past visits to Xavier which is a program that believes they’re in a good spot with Branham and hearing their name on Wednesday would change the future of the program in a good way for Travis Steele.
While I don’t have a clear favorite, those are the three programs that have been able to make the hardest push at Branham both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and also the fact that he was able to meet the coaches and visit those three programs prior to the dead period which allows no campus visits with the coaching staffs.
Branham was destined for a big summer which probably would’ve changed his recruitment. With a good summer, which Branham had envisioned, blue blood programs likely could’ve seen more of him which could have changed things and then some other programs that would’ve likely gotten involved.
With that, I’m very high on Malaki Branham, no matter which program lands his talents, they will be very lucky. Despite being a five-star I don’t believe Branham has hit his full potential and is going to shock people when he touches a college floor. His skill set is one that could be an immediate impact right away at any conference.
Could Xavier shock the world and land Branham? Will Ohio State keep one of the state’s top-rated players at home? or, will it be Louisville and Chris Mack?