5-star PF Marcus Spears, Jr. talks SMU, top schools

Dynamic Prep (Tex.) 5-star power forward Marcus Spears, Jr. still has the SMU Mustangs among his top schools as summer picks up, but competition is stiff.

He’s the No. 1 player in Texas for the 2027 class, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. The 6-8 forward has programs like Arizona, Arkansas, LSU, Texas and others in the mix along with SMU.

His ties with former teammates, Jaden Toombs and Jermaine O’Neal, Jr., are there at SMU as well. He gets the lowdown from them.

“They’re just in my ear telling it telling me what it’s about,” Spears told Sam Lance this week. “They obviously have an inside look, so they can tell me everything about it. They telling me the goods and some of the stuff like that you got to look out for because obviously that’s college. It’s not going to be perfect. They really tell me the good things mostly, they’re they’re staying so they like it a lot.”

He doesn’t have any visits set just yet and is focused on his game with Drive Nation and getting ready for Dynamic Prep.

“The only thing I want to accomplish is getting better,” he said in the Field of 68 interview. “I want to accomplish getting better. I don’t really have nothing to accomplish out to nothing else but myself. I just want to accomplish getting better. The little things are the things that make you the best.”

Discuss SMU’s recruitment of Spears with other Mustang fans!

He’s eyeing development for his college stop as a big piece. LSU, SMU and Texas are the only schools to have hosted him for games so far.

“Development is the biggest thing I’ve been looking for. From my freshman year to now, I’ve developed a lot, and I still have a lot to develop,” he previously told Rivals. “I’m really going to a school that is going to develop me. Somebody who I can get into the system and flow and get me where I want to be.”

This summer, he was named a top performer at Nike EYBL on one of the days of competition by Jamie Shaw.

“Marcus Spears Jr. impact comes with his unique blend of explosive athleticism, fluid mobility, and motor. He makes plays around the basket, finding himself consistently around the play with usually something positive happening,” Shaw wrote. “Spears has great length with size. He has a high feel for basketball and where to be on the floor. Spears made the game-winner on Saturday, wedging the defender up the line and catching it over the top to finish at the rim. He tends to find a way to make an impact.”