JJ Mandaquit, a Hilo (Hawaii) native, narrowed his list of schools to nine schools on Aug. 19. According to Joe Tipton of On3, the 6-1 rising senior point guard is down to BYU, Cal, Creighton, Hawaii, Louisville, Tennessee, USC, Virginia, and Washington.
Mandaquit, a consensus top-100 recruit, currently plays at Utah Prep. He spent this summer with the Compton Magic and USA Basketball, participating with the U17 team that won the FIBA U17 World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey.
In six games with Team USA U17 squad, Mandaquit compiled 6.6 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.1 steals with a shooting slash line of 44.4/21.1/66.7% in 18 minutes. He scored in double figures twice and doled out 11 assists against Italy in the Finals.
Top-Rated Hawaiian Point Guard Slashes College List And Schedules 7 Visits, Including 3 To ACC Country
The consensus 4-star prospect is ranked No. 47 and No. 6 point guard in the nation. He holds 15 scholarship offers overall and has made three campus visits (two official and one unofficial).
However, Hawaii is the only school Mandaquit has visited that made the cut. He also visited Washington State and Stanford (unofficially).
Mandaquit is considered one of the top passers in the 2025 class, according to Jaime Shaw of On3.
Mandaquit is excellent in the pick and roll, showing capable of delivering passes with either hand as he reads the movement of the defense. He has excellent touch on his passes and is equally adept at delivering in the full or half-court.
Here is more from On3:
JJ Madaquit is a high IQ point guard. He is very cerebral, and he reads the game at an advanced level. The ball is on a string, and he manipulates angles very well, creating both space and opportunity. While he is an average athlete, he gives good effort on the defensive end. Mandaquit has an array of paint finishes, with floaters and runners. Size may be a question; he plays with a great pace and attacks with great balance.
Looking At Mandaquit’s Finalists
Mandaquit has set up seven upcoming visits, two at the end of the month. He is slated to visit Cal this weekend and Louisville next weekend.
Mandaquit will visit Washington (Sept. 21), Virginia (Sept. 28), USC (Oct. 5), BYU (Oct. 12), and Creighton (Oct. 26). Therefore, Tennessee is the only school not to get a visit, at least yet. Per NCAA rules, Mandaquit is not eligible to make an official visit to Hawaii as he has already taken one there.
“I’m not sure when I’m going to sign, so right now, there is no plan, to be honest,” Mandaquit told Shaw in July. “We’ll see how things go, a lot can happen, you know. I want to take my time and not make a rushed decision.
“For me, in this recruiting process, the coaching staff is huge. As a point guard, I have to be like a coach on the floor. So having that relationship with the head coach is especially big for me. Player development also. I’m always looking to get better and trying to reach the next level.
“I want to play up-tempo and I’m comfortable playing in a lot ball screens. More importantly, though, I want to be surrounded by a lot of shooters with a lot of space and play with great bigs to throw lobs to and set screens.”
I believe that Hawai’i has a slight edge in Mandaquit’s recruitment. However, BYU, Louisville, and Virginia are a close second. Any of the three schools could overtake the Fighting Rainbows for his services.
1. Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors
Hawai’i was the first school to offer Mandaquit, making the overture on June 19, 2022. He was on campus on October 20, 2023.
“It was very special to go back home,” Mandaquit told Shaw. “The whole coaching staff was there to welcome me in. I’ve heard a lot of stuff about the campus and the program over the phone, but going there and meeting with everyone in person and seeing their plan for me was pretty cool to see. A lot of their pitch was to come back home and do something special. I’m regarded as one of the best players to ever come from Hawai’i, so being able to go back home and make an impact on the community would be huge.”
2. BYU Cougars
Mandaquit and Utah Prep teammate AJ Dybantsa are slated to be on the Provo campus on the same weekend (Oct.12). The Cougars officially offered Mandaquit on April 22.
“Coach Brandon Dunson was the first assistant on staff there,” Mandaquit said. “He’s been recruiting me since my freshman year. He’s been on me since Day 1, and we have a really, really good relationship. The week Coach (Kevin) Young got the job, I was able to go on an unofficial visit to get to meet him. I have a really good relationship with their staff. BYU is close to me, too, so I’m sure I’ll be around campus a lot.”
3. Louisville Cardinals
Mandaquit has been a priority for coach Pat Kelsey and Louisville. The Cardinals staff saw him several times with his Compton Magic AAU team on the Adidas 3SSB circuit and then with USA Basketball earlier this summer, per Jody Demling of Cardinal Authority. He told Demling that he has built a great relationship with Kelsey and assistant coach Ronnie Hamilton.
“They have been one of the more consistent schools for sure. They have been in contact with me every step of the way. They have been very supportive of me through the USA Basketball experience and (on the Adidas circuit).”
“I really like coach Kelsey a whole lot. Coach is a new coach but he needs someone, he needs a point guard that can run the show and someone he can trust.
“We’ve talked about that and he feels like we can go in there and win the national championship together.”
4. Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia paid close attention to Mandaquit while he was playing for Compton Magic this summer. The Cavaliers officially offered him on July 15, and he will take a trip to Charlottesville on Sept. 28. Mandaquit has followed UVA for years.
“The summer went really well, and it was great being able to make it to the final four on the 3SSB Circuit,” Mandaquit told CavsCorner. “In this last month of July, it is important for your entire team to play together and that is what we did, we had a really nice showing.”
“They have just been telling me that they can see me coming in there and making an impact right away, truthfully,” Mandaquit explained. “They value the point guard position and they have told me how important it is and they have history of playing point guards early. I know Kihei Clark really well so he is someone that I have talked to about Virginia and I am been following the program for a while now.”
5. Creighton Blue Jays
Creighton is the last stop on his official visit list. He will be in Omaha on August 24.
“They play basketball the right way, I really love how they play, and that is something that they have been telling me. They pay attention to all of the little details, like my leadership, and the ways that I impact a game. That is something that I really respect from the coaching staff because I feel like a lot of people just overlook the things that don’t show up in the stat book.”
6. USC Trojans
USC offered Mandaquit at the end of October 2023. He will be on the Los Angeles campus for an official visit on Oct. 5.
7. California Golden Bears
Mandaquit picked up an offer from Cal after earning Offensive Player of the Year in the Grind Session this season. He averaged 18 points and seven assists a game during the session. He will be in Berkeley this weekend.
8. Washington Huskies
Washington offered Mandaquit on June 15. He will take a visit to Seattle on Sept. 21.
9. Tennessee Volunteers
No visit has been set up yet.
