Recruiting Report: Luke Maranka (2019)
T.J. Rushing
A clear-cut stock-riser in Michigan’s 2019 class, 6-foot-9 small forward Luke Maranka is on the verge of being one of the state’s hottest commodities.
He’s grown quite a bit, and now, at 6’9 and able to play the wing, it’s no wonder that college coaches are coming after him in droves.
“I had a couple of colleges talking to me. I had Ferris State and Central Michigan talking to me right when they could,” said Maranka, a home-schooled product.
“By the end of July, after we (Michigan Mustangs 16U) went to Louisville and Las Vegas, I probably had 15 coaches talk to me, telling me they saw me at those two tournaments. And my recruitment kind of exploded after those tournaments.”
Within that barrage of interest, Maranka wasn't able to identify one school that has been recruiting him more than any other.
“Right now, with it being fairly early in the recruiting process, there really isn’t one school that stands out. But I know I had quite a few MAC schools that are looking at me,” said Maranka.
“What a lot of them are saying that, is that at 6’9 and playing wing, I have a lot of potential.”
His great size and versatility is an obvious attention-grabber. And he defined what his current strengths are to PHMI.
“I like to be able to drive to the basket, but also have the 3-point shot that teams aren’t expecting out of a 6’9 guy,” said Maranka.
“For my high school team, I’m kind of like a small forward. But then, with my AAU team, I’m more of a stretch-four. So, it kind of just depends what team I’m playing for.”
This past spring and summer, Maranka started out playing with MBA, and finished his offseason with the Michigan Mustangs on the adidas Circuit.
“It was a great summer. I think every single person on our team got great exposure, and we’re all getting talked to by college coaches,” said Maranka.
“My biggest thing I was working on is my defense. I’m a pretty good shot-blocker, but in terms of being outside and guarding someone, that’s something I’m really trying to improve on.”
Formerly a Hudsonville Hornets guy, he’ll now play with a new home-schooled program called The Hoop Heaven, based out of Grand Rapids area.
“We’re trying to get some scrimmages with high schools and then a couple of bigger schools,” said Maranka, who says catching the eye of bigger schools is a goal of his this winter.
“One of my biggest recruitment goals is to be recruited by some Big Ten schools, like Michigan or Michigan State for something like that.”
“We’ll just see what happens this year.”
