USC basketball completes its best recruiting week in years with another major commitment
Kevin Porter Jr., one of the top-rated recruits at shooting guard in the West, announced on Sunday that he has committed to USC, marking the Trojans’ third major commitment in the last week.
The commitment of Porter, who is from Seattle’s Rainier Beach High, completes USC’s best week of recruiting at least in the era of recruiting services.
On Monday, forward J’Raan Brooks, also of Seattle, announced his commitment, and Taeshon Cherry, of San Diego, committed on on Friday.
All are ranked in the top 100 nationally by the major recruiting services.
Porter, who is 6-5 and 205 pounds, fits the shooting guard prototype for Coach Andy Enfield’s system. He is tall and athletic with a confident outside shooting stroke.
His commitment was another recruiting win for USC over conference foes like UCLA, Oregon and Washington. Porter listed all three schools in his final six.
USC will have two scholarships available after next season, when Elijah Stewart and Jordan McLaughlin run out of eligibility. But it is very likely that Bennie Boatwright and Chimezie Metu, who both almost left for the NBA this spring, will depart, too.
That means USC could have at least one more scholarship to dangle. With a deep backcourt and now two forward commitments, the Trojans would be free to pursue the best available talent, regardless of position.
The Trojans are still in the running for players like Marvin Bagley III of Chatsworth Sierra Canyon and Bol Bol (the son of the late Manute Bol, the 7-foot-7 former NBA center) of Santa Ana Mater Dei. Bagley listed USC among his final six schools. But both players are considered among the best prospects in the nation, making the Trojans’ chances more distant.
USC’s recruiting class is among its strongest in years. Some recruiting services list Cherry as a five-star recruit, which would be USC’s first since DeMar DeRozan in 2008. That recruiting class also unearthed forward Nikola Vucevic. But this year’s class could be deeper on paper.
This class could rival the heralded five-player 2007 recruiting class that included five-star recruits O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson as well as another high-profile signee in Mamadou Diarra.
Follow Zach Helfand on Twitter @zhelfand
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