Haanif Cheatham commits to Marquette

Consensus 2015 top 100 recruit Haanif Cheatham of Fort Lauderdale, Florida committed to Marquette Friday. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound combo guard joins top 50 recruit Nick Noskowiak and rising star Matt Heldt in a nationally-ranked first recruiting class for new head coach Steve Wojciechowski.

Cheatham chose the Golden Eagles over California, Baylor, Florida State, Georgia and Marquette's Big East rival Georgetown. Of the five, he only visited Cal and Marquette, and was welcomed by Noskowiak and Heldt when he visited Milwaukee Aug. 29.

"Cheatham's game boasts wide-range utility," Spartan Digest writes. "He's a smooth athlete with a southpaw jump shot that extends to the three-point stripe. He possesses some explosiveness as well, which enables him to be a multi-dimensional scorer. His playmaking ability is excellent for a 6-5 guard, though defensively he projects as a wing rather than a point. He'll need to gain strength and tighten up his dribbling for the next level."

From both a skill and hype standpoint, Cheatham projects very similarly to sophomore shooting guard Jajuan Johnson, another out-of-state combo guard with solid all-around skills that was ranked in the 50's and 60's nationally his senior year of high school. Cheatham figures to battle Johnson and freshman Sandy Cohen for playing time once he arrives next fall.

Cheatham is yet another big win for Wojciechowski in his first summer as a head coach. His addition could bump Marquette's 2015 class into the top 10 nationally, according to 247sports.

With Cheatham on board, Wojciechowski will likely turn all of his recruiting attention to 6-foot-10 power forward Henry Ellenson of Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Ellenson ranks fifth in the 2015 ESPN 100, and Wojciechowski landed his brother Wally from Minnesota via transfer this summer.