Techinically, Quate McKinzie isn't UB's first recruit in the class of 2016, but after Evan Clayborne decommitted, he looks like the first who will stick.
After yesterday's pledge from McKinzie, I've run around to find what we can on the 6-8 power forward. If there's one thing you need to know, it's that McKinzie is a far better person than a basketball player, and he's a pretty darn good basketball player.
It's been an honor to cover Mckinzie @UBBullRun as a local reporter. great guy and fantastic player. Look forward to seeing him on your site
— Connor (@connortheOGfam) September 14, 2015
@UBBullRun he's a very good friend of mine, really going to miss writing about him. Glad he chose such a great program.
— Connor (@connortheOGfam) September 14, 2015
On the court, McKinzie is only rated by ESPN among the recruiting services, but they have him listed as the #40 power forward in the country and the #11 overall player in North Carolina.
You can see in the highlight video above a pretty good range of skills. They lead with his finishing ability, and it feels like they might be overrepresenting that, but it's a ten minute video, and you get some defense and longer-range shots, as well. It took a day for the articles to catch up with social media, but these two provide the most information on Quate:
New growth | StarNewsOnline.com
Mckinzie commits to Buffalo - Sampson Independent - clintonnc.com
"Q," as he is called by friends and family, also won the CRC Player of the Year and earned a very deserving spot on the NCISAA 2A All-State team. Mckinzie has also helped lead HCA to back-to-back appearances in the state semifinals. For the class of 2016, Mckinzie is ranked 40th out of every power forward in the country by ESPN. And that’s before he even begins his final high school season.
McKinzie also had offers from UNC-Wilmington, Charlotte, and Temple, and was starting to garner interest from bigger schools. He actually had an official visit scheduled with Temple this coming weekend, but cancelled it after coming to Buffalo over Labor Day.
McKinzie Calls it For Buffalo
McKinzie is a two time alum of the prestigious North Carolina Top 80. After his performance in the 2015 event we wrote, "McKinzie carries a 7’ wing span, and a huge vertical leap. He carried several games this year where he finished with 10+ blocks and routinely grabbed 10+ boards.
McKinzie is a name that people know, but still is a little under rated. Look for him to come out and create his own destiny here. A dogged defender, and a high motor leader." The system Buffalo runs and their plan for his skill was very attractive to McKinzie, "I will be playing the 3/4 with them. Their style of play is what I am looking forward to in college. They do a lot of screen and rolls, and making plays off the reads."
Buffalo Lands Power Forward Quate McKinzie | ZagsBlog.com
Oats and assistant Donyell Marshall made McKinzie a priority in July and then brought him up for a visit last weekend. He is their first commit for 2016. "He really likes Coach Marshall and Coach Oats," McKinzie’s head coach Clayton Hall, told SNY.tv. "They also followed him everywhere this summer. He really enjoyed his visit and was impressed with the campus and the team. He and his mom were also very impressed with the academic side of the university."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Like the pickup for Buffalo in 2016 CP3 (NC) forward Quate McKinzie. Will produce for the Bulls. Strong, underrated defender, finishes well.</p>— Joey Natale (@OJElite) <a href="https://twitter.com/OJElite/status/643473087678312448">September 14, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Quate McKinzie to Buffalo. Nice pull for MAC program. Work in progress on offense but can be all league defender due to versatility + size</p>— Corey Evans (@coreyevans_10) <a href="https://twitter.com/coreyevans_10/status/643468361062453248">September 14, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Harrell's Christian 6'7 2016 Quate McKinzie is a vicious Paint Protector <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FredLynchInvitational?src=hash">#FredLynchInvitational</a></p>— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) <a href="https://twitter.com/JamieShaw5/status/613431295251603456">June 23, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Welcome to Buffalo, Quate!