2018 Recruiting: Taeshon Cherry chooses USC over Gonzaga

Taeshon Cherry, a five-star forward in the class of 2018, has chosen USC over five other schools, including Gonzaga.

Cherry is an absolute jewel for USC. He is ranked No. 39 in the country according to 247Sports, and it was always going to be an uphill climb for the Zags to secure his services.

While some people tend to struggle with why a recruit would choose other school’s over Gonzaga, in the case of Cherry, it really isn’t hard to figure out. Recruiting is a dicey game, and promises to recruits on style of play go a long way. In the end, Gonzaga’s pitch wasn’t what Cherry wanted to hear.

"They'll have me play more at the 2- and 3-spot; he'll play more of the 4 and 5," Cherry said. "A&M and Gonzaga were going to have me at the 4-spot. I don't see me at the 4. USC told me the 2, 3 and 4. That put them over the top with me and my dad. I don't see myself in the NBA at the 4-spot."

This is an important note to make. For people who will cry that USC is a garbage program and he is wasting his time there and could just come to Gonzaga where we have a history of developing bigs into the NBA why oh why would would you decide to not come to Gonzaga it just doesn’t make sense, the above quote is the real reason why.

From Cherry’s perspective, the fit would never be quite right at Gonzaga. The Zags will start the 2018 season with Larsen at center, but they will need the most help at the four spot, with Rui Hachimura, Corey Kispert, and Zach Norvell covering the three. Cherry was going to be a prototypical power forward, not necessarily the running and gunning power forward he envisions himself.

So there you have it. There have been some rumblings about how recruiting hasn’t taken off for Gonzaga despite the national championship appearance. Sometimes, the glove just won’t fit, and that is the case here.