Ranking the Contenders: Four-star Carl Cherenfant
Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Calvary Christian Academy guard Carl Cherenfant is in the process of taking official visits and has narrowed his list to include just a handful of schools. According to Cherenfant, he’s still considering St. John’s, LSU, Mississippi State, Memphis, UCF, South Carolina and USF.
Not all of those schools stand on equal footing, however. Rivals.com national basketball analyst Rob Cassidy cuts through the noise and ranks the actual contenders to land Cherenfant’s pledge below.
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1. MEMPHIS
The Tigers have emerged as the solid front-runner after Cherenfant’s weekend official visit and should be treated as the team to beat going forward. Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway has prioritized the versatile guard for some time and and the work he and his staff have put in seems to have struck a chord with Cherenfant, who has not announced a commitment date as of yet.
Still, Tigers fans should feel good about where the program stands in the eyes of the Florida-based standout. Things are starting to feel more like a lock with each passing day.
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2. UCF
The appeal of in-state UCF is obvious, and the fact that the school’s Orlando-based campus sits just three hours away from where Cherenfant attends high school is definitely worth noting. Still, if the Knights are able to land Cherenfant it will be because of Cherenfant’s bond with head coach Johnny Dawkins, who has been recruiting the Florida-based wing for years now.
Cherenfant visited UCF in early September, and it still feels as though the Knights trail Memphis by a significant margin.
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3. ST JOHN’S
Cherenfant’s recent visit to St. John’s went well by all indications, but it’s still difficult to imagine a world in which he chooses the Red Storm over Memphis or either in-state school. It’s hard to rule out Mike Anderson’s program entirely because of the way the versatile Cherenfant fits with its fast-paced style.
There’s plenty of work left to do, however, if Anderson is to pull off what would be a major recruiting upset.
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4. USF
If Cherenfant picks an in-state program, an end that seems to be becoming more unlikely by the day, it will likely be UCF. That said, the Bulls need to be included here based on the fact that they were able to get the in-demand prospect on campus for an official visit last month.
Head coach Brian Gregory has remained in pursuit and visited Calvary Christian to see Cherenfant in the official visit’s aftermath.