By SAM LANCE
KANSAS CITY — When his team needed him most, three-star guard Courtland Muldrew came through.
Team Thad was down 79-78 to Team CP3 with around 45 seconds left in a Sunday game during Session 4. Muldrew had the ball in his hands, and was trusted to make a play. He did so, driving the basket, spinning, and hitting a tough and-one layup through traffic.
That basket was a huge momentum swing, and pretty much served as the game winning shot for Team Thad. Team CP3 was stopped on the next possession and Team Thad was able to cruise to an 85-79 win. Muldrew, the 6-foot-3, 170-pound guard from Har-Ber (AR) finished with 34 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field to lead the way.
Plays like this are what makes Muldrew special. He’s a winner. And he’s been a big reason why Team Thad is sitting at 11-4 heading into Peach Jam, tied for the fourth best record in all of the EYBL.
This season, Muldrew has also been one of EYBL’s best scorers. Per the overall season statistics page, Muldrew’s 18.2 points per game ranks No. 17 on the circuit. During session 4 in Kansas City — where Muldrew had the 34-point outing and game-winning basket vs. Team CP3 — the guard averaged 23.8 points per game while shooting 53.7%.
“I’ve just been playing with confidence,” Muldrew said of his impressive summer. “My coaching staff is putting a lot of confidence in me. My teammates are just expecting me to go out there and do what I can do. So just going out there with a bunch of confidence and playing how I know I can play.”
Muldrew isn’t a highly-ranked prospect. He comes in as a three-star on 247Sports and On3, and he can’t be found in ESPN’s recruitment database. But his game on the court speaks for itself, and college coaches are starting to take notice.
“This is definitely a summer that I need to prove everything I need to prove,” Muldrew said. “So just kind of coming out with that edge. I’m not ranked on ESPN or anything like that so just coming out with that edge and just showing everybody what I can do. I’m a dog on the court. I come with an edge every game no matter what. I’m bringing 110% every time.
Muldrew continued:
“Basketball is about confidence. If you come out there with a certain confidence and a certain edge, I feel like you can be successful. The first session, I didn’t do very good. But just coming back, getting back to myself and playing with a lot of confidence has really helped me.”
While in Kansas City, Muldrew caught up with ZAGSBLOG.com to chat the latest on his recruitment. The guard named Oklahoma, Washington, Texas, Colorado, Ole Miss, Missouri and SMU as the schools most in contact. Here is his break down of each program:
Oklahoma: “They had a great guard, [Javian] McCollum. I just like how they let him play, the way they play. Just how they let their guards play. Every school I’ve been in contact with they’ve told me they like how I play. They think I’ll be great in the college world and then they said they like my body. I have a good frame.” Hearing mostly from head coach Porter Moser and assistant Ryan Humphrey.
Washington: “One of the coaches came from Utah and he was recruiting me at Utah. Then he came there. So they came over to the live period, saw me. And then the assistant coach and the head coach saw me and liked my game so they offered me after that live period. Just schools like that, they really liked how I played. So just coming out, showing everyone what I can do. And then just how they let their guards play.” Assistant coach DeMarlo Slocum is who he was referring too.
Texas: “I love Texas. That’s where I’m from. So just the connection I’ve had with the coaches. The whole coaching staff is recruiting me. So just the love they showed. The guard they had this year that was top five in scoring all-time. I just liked how they played. I went to a visit there when they played Oklahoma and I loved how fast they played. Rodney Terry, that’s my guy. He showed immediate love when I was on my visit. So that’s really big for me. My recruitment wasn’t really big then, but him showing that love early has been cool.”
Colorado: “I haven’t heard too much about Colorado, but I’m going to learn a lot about them. Obviously, they offered, so, just getting more in touch with the program and stuff like that.”
Ole Miss: “Ole Miss is great. I had a visit with them. Coach Wes Flanigan he’s been showing love since he was at Auburn. So when he came over to Ole Miss, it was big time. And then going over there was really good. They’ve showed a ton of love and talk to me every weekend.”
SMU: “I haven’t really talked to them [new staff] too much but still have the offer.”
Missouri: “I love Coach [David] Nutt, that’s my guy. Coach Nutt has known my uncle, stuff like that. So him showing love early it’s pretty cool. They always talk about my shooting ability and said they need scorers so I think I can help them out a lot.”
Muldrew said the college coach he’s closest with is Flanigan of Ole Miss. He added Oklahoma and Ole Miss have been recruiting him for the longest period of time. Muldrew will visit the Rebels starting June 15 after NBPA Top 100 camp, his father, Carmelo Muldrew, told ZAGSBLOG.com.
Right after the interview with Muldrew on May 24, Muldrew picked up an offer from West Virginia. He’s also fielded offers from Mississippi State, LSU and Arizona State as of late. As for visits, Muldrew has already taken Missouri, Texas and Ole Miss. He’s been talking to Washington, Colorado and Virginia about upcoming officials as well. Muldrew is ranked the No. 209 player in the 2025 class by 247Sports and is the No. 4 player in the state of Arkansas. He describes himself as a scorer. “But people don’t really know that I can be a point guard when I need to be,” Muldrew said. “I just let the game come to me and score when I need to.” This past week, Muldrew was invited to Pangos All-American camp. He was named a standout there by several medias.Courtland Muldrew will visit Ole Miss starting June 15 after @Top100Camp, his father tells https://t.co/8WGMjswM2c.
— Sam Lance (@slancehoops) June 7, 2024
Story on the rising 2025 prospect and his impressive summer on the @NikeEYB circuit coming soon. pic.twitter.com/usAQqNnWF8
Muldrew’s father played sports up until college. He also has an older brother who played sports and two younger sisters. “Courtland is a tough hard-nosed competitor,” Carmelo Muldrew said. “He plays with a chip on his shoulder and plays offense and defense which shows he loves the game of basketball.” Follow Sam Lance on Twitter Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram And Like ZAGS on FacebookMy @PangosAACamp standouts through two days:
— Tobias Bass (@tobias_bass) June 4, 2024
‘25 Amari Allen
‘25 Jake West
‘26 Ikenna Alozie
‘26 Kaiden Bailey
‘25 Darius Adams
‘26 Tarris Bouie
‘25 Darrell Brown, Jr.
‘25 Dorian Hayes
‘25 Jerry Easter II
‘25 DeMarco Johnson
‘25 Kayden Edwards
‘25 Davis Fogle
‘25 Courtland… pic.twitter.com/nlLx1y9OFc
