In the recruiting world, sometimes “no news” is actually big news, and that was the case last week, when four-star forward Aiden Sherrell canceled his scheduled commitment announcement less than 48 hours before it was set to take place. The No. 25 prospect in the class of 2024, Sherrell’s official list of finalists is made up of Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Alabama and Michigan State. Not all teams on his list stand on equal footing, however.
Today, Rivals.com’s Rob Cassidy ranks the contenders to land Sherrell, whose recruitment is, once again, open for business.
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Related: Kansas bests Duke for five-star big man Flory Bidunga
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1. ALABAMA
The Tide have felt like the leader to land Sherrell for months. For whatever reason, however, the five-star forward has been a little shy when it comes to pulling the trigger on a commitment despite sources saying he’s been close to announcing for Alabama on two separate occasions.
Head coach Nate Oats and company felt supremely confident right up until the moment Sherrell canceled his Aug. 13 announcement, but now things have the potential to get interesting. The Tide should probably still be considered the slight front-runner, but Texas has closed the gap. A recruitment that once seemed open-and-shut is now a bit more uncertain.
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2. TEXAS
Texas never quit when it came to its pursuit of Sherrell. The Longhorns were recruiting him hard right up until he decided to call off his announcement despite the five-star forward’s obvious standing as an Alabama lean.
The Longhorns, who offered Sherrell last month, are said to be making a strong push to get him on campus and have piqued the Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep star’s interest to say the least.
If UT gets Sherrell to visit this fall, things could move quickly and Rodney Terry’s program could seize the top spot on this list.
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3. MICHIGAN STATE
Sherrell visited Michigan State back in October. And while the Spartans' standing as a threat in his recruitment has been a bit hot and cold, they can’t be ruled out entirely at this juncture.
The Spartans seem to be running in second behind the Crimson Tide for most of the last few months and could figure into the process once again now that Sherrell’s recruitment is open.
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4. A LATE-ARRIVING PROGRAM
Once the door to a recruitment cracks open, it becomes a bit easier for various programs to push through it. And while it’s not as though Sherrell has seen a wave of late-arriving offers since he canceled his announcement, it’s certainly not out of the question for a program with a positional need to come banging on the door.
Both Duke and Auburn recently missed on big man target Flory Bindunga and could be worth monitoring, even if neither has made a move just yet.
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5. A PRO OPTION
The NBA G League is a long shot, and there’s no concrete evidence that Sherrell and the league have had any serious discussions. That said, the pro route bat signal automatically goes up when a player postpones a planned announcement at the 11th hour. Professional options are worth noting only because they’re possibilities, not because there’s any reason to think there have been negotiations.
