Marquette, Georgetown make the cut for 2021 forward James Graham III

The Marquette Golden Eagles are still in the hunt for one of the top coveted recruits in their own backyard.

James Graham III (Milwaukee, Wisc./Nicolet) revealed his top nine schools on Monday night.

They aren’t the only Big East school in the mix, as the Georgetown Hoyas are also in the mix. Joining them in Graham’s final nine are Auburn, Florida State, Wisconsin, Maryland, Memphis, Michigan State and Vanderbilt.

Graham’s stock recently rose during the coronavirus pandemic. While many felt that he would have really benefited from an AAU season to gain exposure, he still managed to garner attention even with basketball put on hold. He was a known commodity in local, surrounding areas, but became a nationally coveted target after Maryland offered in early May.

Before Maryland reached out, the 6-foot-8 forward only had three offers to his name. Before trimming his list down, he had two-dozen offers to sift through.

He fielded offers from other Big East schools like Butler, Xavier, and DePaul, as well as Indiana, Oregon, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Georgia, Mizzouri, Iowa, and many others.

He’s currently listed as a three-star prospect according to 247 Sports composite rankings, but a four-star recruit according to ESPN.

His quick ascension on the recruiting front was no surprise to his teammates and coaches at Nicolet. He was part of the Knights’ state championship team in 2019, and they were primed to repeat again this year, until the remainder of the season was canceled.

Graham averaged 20.6 points per game for a Nicolet team that went 22-2 this past season.