Wake Forest Basketball Recruiting: The Wait Until Homecoming Official Visits

The next week is going to be a quiet one for Wake Forest basketball recruiting. Or at least that's what we hope.

With multiple top 2018 targets planning to take their Official Visits during Homecoming Weekend, we're at a critical point of the 2018 recruiting cycle. Nate Laszewski, Mike Devoe, and Isaiah Mucius, three 4* Top 75 prospects, are all scheduled to be in Winston-Salem from September 15-17. This is great news on paper, as it means Wake is in legitimate contention for three top recruits that I would be thrilled to have in the Black and Gold. The complication comes in when you realize their recruitments aren't exactly a one-horse race, and two of them will be visiting other schools this weekend before they make the trip to Wake.

Nate Laszewski is headed to South Bend this Friday to take in Notre Dame; a program that has come on late in his recruitment but has made an immediate impact on the talented forward. He's talked very highly of the Irish in recent interviews, and right now 9 of the 10 Crystal Balls for him on 247sports are for ND. This is a long ways away from earlier this summer, when it looked like Wake's longtime relationship with the Massachusetts wing would pay off in dividends by the time the fall came around.

Priority #1 is simply to make sure that Laszewski goes through the weekend (And probably the next couple days after that) still being uncommitted and open to all options. If by this time next week we haven't heard anything and our visit hasn't been "delayed", that's a really good thing. Keep an eye out for rumblings on Twitter in the meantime, because social media usually lends some hints before news officially breaks.

Long-time 4* SF target Isaiah Mucius will also be taking his first Official Visit to Xavier this weekend. The Musketeers have long been considered Wake's top competitor for his services and Chris Mack is going to do absolutely everything he can to make sure he's committed by the end of the weekend. And I don't blame him either. Mucius' 6'8 frame and athleticism help make him a high-potential versatile wing and a core piece to any 2018 recruiting class. Manning will be pitching early playing time and the opportunity to be a key member of a class that could vault this program back into the upper echelon of college basketball. With no other OVs scheduled for Mucius after the Wake visit, I would feel very good about our chances if he does indeed make it to Winston-Salem.

In conclusion, my unstoppable excitement to hear about any/all Wake Forest recruiting news is going to be put on hold for the next 7 days. Root for no news and root for it hard and we'll be in good shape. I'm confident Danny Manning can land these top prospects once they've seen the beauty of Mother So Dear. He just needs to get a chance to close the deal.

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Here is the most up-to-date version of the 2018 Basketball Recruiting Big Board featuring all prospects, visit dates, competition, and more.

Below are some new highlight tapes and videos of the five 2018 prospects that Wake is prioritizing at the moment. If it's been a while since you last saw some of these guys' films, I suggest you check out these short clips to give you a glimpse of what they might look like in the Black and Gold.

Nate Laszewski, 4* #87 in the 247Sports Composite

Isaiah Mucius, 4* #66 in the 247Sports Composite

Mike Devoe, 4* #88 in the 247Sports Composite

Ayo Dosunmu, 4* #27 on the 247Sports Composite

Nate Roberts, 3* #228 on the 247Sports Composite