River Rouge Mr. Basketball candidate Legend Geeter still waiting on coveted Michigan offer

Michigan coach Juwan Howard was at Eastern Michigan University’s Convocation Center last December when Emoni Bates and defending Division 1 state champion Ypsilanti Lincoln played their season opener against River Rouge.

It was then when Howard got a glimpse of River Rouge 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward Legend Geeter, who proved to be the difference in River Rouge’s 63-53 win over Bates – considered the top player in the nation regardless of class – and Lincoln.

Geeter had a double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds), making 7-of-11 shots from the field and scoring 10 during the pivotal fourth quarter. He averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks to earn Division 1 first-team all-state honors by The Detroit News.

And while Geeter has multiple major offers, including Georgetown and Missouri, Howard has yet to offer Geeter, which is a surprise to River Rouge coach Lamonta Stone.

“I’m kind of disappointed with Michigan with the Legend thing (recruiting process),” said Stone earlier this week. “Legend has two Big East offers with Georgetown and Providence and the SEC offer with Missouri, but I don’t get why they (Michigan) haven’t offered him yet.”

Geeter will be regarded as one of the top candidates for this year’s Mr. Basketball award, joining guards Pierre Brooks (Detroit Douglass), Julian Roper (Orchard Lake St. Mary’s) and Kobe Bufkin (Grand Rapids Christian).

Brooks committed to Michigan State in April and Roper to Northwestern in May.

Bufkin is expected to announce his decision Friday with Michigan as the favorite. Will Tschetter, a 6-8 forward from Minnesota, committed to Michigan on Monday. Shooting guard Isaiah Barnes committed to Michigan two weeks ago.

Geeter was disappointed when the season came to a crashing halt back in mid-March due to COVID-19. River Rouge was No. 1 in The Detroit News Super 20 and was set to play No. 5 Detroit Cass Tech for the district title when the showdown was cancelled on the previous day.

River Rouge was attempting to earn its 15th state championship.

Geeter said he has no plans to make his college choice in the near future, saying he’s waiting for more offers to come, possibly one from Michigan.

“I feel I’ve improved on everything, especially in the weight room,” Geeter said. “I put on 10 pounds, got more physical. I play small forward but I’m working my way up to a perimeter player. I’ve been mostly working on my perimeter game, but I’m also working on my post moves.

“It was tough to have the season end the way it did. We were playing well, had a chance to win it all. I think we can be a really good team this year, feel we can contend for the state championship. We have Keyshawn Devlin back and I feel he’s the best shooter in the state.”