Left with just one scholarship point guard following Northwestern revoking the admission of 2018 signee Jordan Lathon, Chris Collins and his staff had to act fast.

They did just that, landing the commitment of 6’3” combo guard Ryan Greer for the class of 2018.

Excited to announce my commitment to Northwestern University! I will be graduating early and will join the program this summer! Go Cats! #B1Gcats pic.twitter.com/Nwy0vhspPL

— Ryan Greer (@_rag4_) May 30, 2018

With most options already off the board this late in the recruiting process for the 2018-19 season, it was clear that Northwestern would have to get creative in order to find a player who could help out the team. The solution: take a page out of Collins’ former boss Mike Krzyzewski’s book and get a player to reclassify, coming to college a year early. Greer, an excellent student who received an offer from Collins and his staff in early May as a 2019 prospect, made perfect sense.

Greer, a 3-star prospect ranked 269th nationally in the 247sports 2019 composite rankings, caught the eye of the Northwestern staff with strong play this spring on the Under Armour Association Circuit. In 8 games, he is averaging 16.8 points, eight rebounds and five assists per game while shooting 50% from the field and 58% from beyond the arc. He also held offers from DePaul and several high-academic mid-major programs such as Princeton, Yale, and Bucknell. He was on track to receive several more offers, but the offer to come to Evanston a year early was too good to pass up for Greer.

Greer will certainly factor into the starting point guard mix for Northwestern, which still has one scholarship available for next season. Jordan Ash is the only other natural point guard on the roster, but Anthony Gaines, AJ Turner, and Ryan Taylor all have the ability to run offense when necessary. Greer has the size and all-around game to be the perfect fit at point guard right away, but his playing time will likely come down to how ready he is for the college game. One thing in his favor in that regard is his experience playing at one of the nation’s top prep school programs, Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts (the same program that produced current Wildcat Aaron Falzon). Playing against many of the nation’s top players in the extremely tough NEPSAC conference, Greer more than held his own, averaging 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 50% from the field and 49% from three.

Overall, this is a huge pickup for the Wildcats. They land one of their top targets for 2019 a year early, bolstering a position of need for next year and beyond. Greer’s shooting numbers stand out, as do his ability to get rebounds and distribute. To me, he fits the current roster construction perfectly. On tape, Greer plays under control, makes good decisions and shows off a smooth stroke from downtown.

With one more scholarship still available, Collins still has options to improve the 2018-19 team, either by adding depth at point guard via the grad transfer market or by targeting a top available recruit such as former NC State signee Saddiq Bey, who the Wildcats recruited heavily in the fall before he signed with the Wolfpack.