Nazar Mahmoud’s ranking & recruitment gaining steam
2023 Leander (TX) native Nazar Mahmoud made his debut in the Rivals150 during the last rankings cycle, but considering the trajectory he’s been on, a debut might not be where his stock ends. The 6-foot-6 guard is one of the best multi-level scorers in the class, and could catapult up the rankings with a strong spring and summer.
Rivals caught up with the 2023 three-star to discuss his recruitment and upcoming plans.
In His Words
“I have offers from a handful of schools including TCU, Rice, and Oakland. Other schools I talk to are Texas, Texas Tech, Creighton, Stanford, Arkansas, Wyoming, and St. Mary’s mostly.”
“My family and I have been talking about it, and I want to take some unofficial visits sometime soon. I’m not sure about officials yet. I’d like to take an unofficial to my hometown school, Texas. I already talk to them. Taking a visit to the University of Texas would be cool.”
On TCU: “Coach (Duane) Broussard contacts me a lot. I like their playing style. They shoot a lot of threes. They just hoop, and I like how Mike Miles controls the game.”
On Rice: “Coach (Scott) Pera and Coach (Greg) Howell have been consistent with me. They’ve come to my games this season. They’ve just been staying in touch and showing love.”
On Oakland: “They’ve offered me and they’re having a hell of a season right now. I think they’re a tournament team and they’ve been killing it in conference play. The coaching staff is in consistent contact with me.”
On Texas: “Not only is it my hometown and I’m my back yard, but they play hard. It’s good, Big12 basketball. They play very hard, very physical, and I like that type of style.”
On Texas Tech: “All of my siblings went there, so there’s a connection. I like their style of basketball. They get after it on the defensive end. They’ve been winning games, and I like what Coach (Mark) Adams has been doing up there.”
On Arkansas: “They interest me a lot. I like how they play with what they’ve got. They roll out there and they play hard. They just give it all that they’ve got.”
On Creighton: “They shoot a lot of threes and I shoot and make a lot of threes. They’re in the Big East and I like the Big East conference. They’ve been doing pretty good this season so I’ve been watching them a lot.”
On Stanford: “They’re a good academic schools and they’re in the PAC12 conference. The PAC12 is a pretty good conference. One of their players, Harrison Ingram, played for Southern Assault. It’s cool to watch him and Stanford because he played for my program.”
On St. Mary’s: “I’m liking St. Mary’s right now. They’re a good school and they’re doing really good this season, being in the AP top-25. They’re doing their thing right now and I’m going to keep watching them.”
Rivals Reaction:
Mahmoud says that he plans on gathering more offers this spring and summer before cutting a list. He’s targeting a fall decision at this time, and possibly earlier than that. Sources close to Mahmoud tell Rivals that there’s a couple of power five programs getting ready to pull the trigger on an offer soon, so this recruitment is just beginning. Mahmoud’s upside is much higher than a fringe top-150 kid, and Rivals will be watching closely to see if he continues on his upward trajectory this spring and summer.