By Kevin Sweeney

After a trying season led to three transfers out of the program in early March, Northwestern men’s basketball was in need of good news.

They got some Wednesday, when 2020 guard Joe Bamisile, a 6-5 guard from Richmond, VA, announced on Twitter that he was committing to the Wildcats program. It’s the second notable commitment from the Richmond area in the past year for Northwestern, which also landed 2019 forward Robbie Beran out of Collegiate School in the fall.

Bamisile is currently a 3-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite rankings, but 247’s in-house rankings peg him a 4-star recruit and the #100 player in the 2020 class. He saw his recruitment soar during a breakout junior season at Monacan High School, earning offers from programs such as Florida, West Virginia, Miami, Virginia Tech, and several other schools. Bamisile took unofficial visits to West Virginia, Pitt, and NC State during his junior campaign before visiting Northwestern this past weekend.

Bamisile is a smooth, athletic guard who can play with or without the ball and has a knack for getting to the rim. Per MaxPreps, Bamisile averaged 28.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists along with 2.0 steals per game. He shot 49% from the field, 30% from 3, and 79% from the free throw line. 247Sports Director of Basketball Recruiting Evan Daniels called Bamisile a “high-level athlete who can score,” while Corey Evans of Rivals said Bamisile “brings plenty of toughness and a scoring punch to the backcourt.”

As it stands now, Bamisile won’t join the team until the 2020-21 season. Still, he provides another major talent to a Northwestern backcourt with major question marks in the long-term.

The Wildcats still have four scholarships available for the 2019-20 season and have been connected to several transfers this offseason.