College basketball recruiting: 2018 4-star forward Taeshon Cherry commits to USC over Arizona, others

It’s USC’s highest-ranked commit since DeMar DeRozan

Taeshon Cherry is taking his talents to the Pac-12, but he won’t be suiting up for the Arizona Wildcats.

The 2018 four-star forward committed to the USC Trojans on Friday.

Cherry is the No. 39 player in his class and the No. 6 player in California, per 247Sports’ Composite rankings. ESPN ranks Cherry 20th in its recruiting rankings, which means he is USC’s highest-ranked commit since DeMar DeRozan in 2008.

The San Diego, Calif. native picked USC over Arizona, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Oregon and Texas A&M.

Cherry is a huge get for USC, which is starting to establish itself as one of the top programs in the Pac-12.

The Trojans, who finished 26-10 and reached the Round of 32 last season, return their top eight scorers in 2017-18 plus add Duke transfer point guard Derryck Thornton and the 24th-ranked recruiting class to the mix, making them arguably the best or second-best team behind Arizona in the Pac-12.

And with Cherry in the fold for 2018-19, USC may be able to stick around as a Pac-12 title contender for years to come, which is good news for a conference that has been uninspiring in recent seasons.

USC’s 2018 recruiting class is now ranked eighth in the country. Aside from Cherry, the Trojans have a commitment from four-star forward J’Raan Brooks, who is the No. 95 player in the class.

Arizona’s 2018 recruiting class is ranked third.

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Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire

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