Taeshon Cherry commits to 2018 USC Basketball recruiting class

Four-star power forward Taeshon Cherry announced his commitment to the 2018 USC Basketball recruiting class on Friday.

The future of USC Basketball got a lot brighter on Friday with the commitment of elite power forward Taeshon Cherry.

The San Diego-native announced his pledge to USC on Twitter, picking the Trojans over Arizona, Oregon, Gonzaga, Texas A&M and San Diego State.

Cherry stands 6-foot-8, 210 pounds as a versatile and high-energy power forward. His competitive nature, athleticism and shooting ability have him among the top players in this recruiting cycle.

At 39th nationally, Cherry is the highest-ranked recruit, in the 247Sports composite, USC has signed since Chimezie Metu, who was No. 38 in the 2015 class.

ESPN is particularly high on Cherry, who sits No. 20 with a five-star rating in their national rankings. Scout also views him as a five-star and ranks him No. 24 in the country. By those measures, he is USC’s highest-rated recruit since DeMar DeRozan.

Though this time last week USC’s 2018 class was empty, Cherry now joins fellow four-star power forward J’Raan Brooks, who committed to the Trojans earlier this week. With Brooks as a more traditional power forward and Cherry existing as more of a small forward-power forward hybrid, the two should be able to coexist and thrive in Los Angeles.

SEE MORE: J’Raan Brooks Commits to USC’s 2018 Recruiting Class

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The Trojans now have two Top 100 players to help extend the success head coach Andy Enfield has built leading up to a Top 10 preseason ranking for the 2017-18 season.

By season’s end, however, USC is likely to see a mass exodus of players. Guards Jordan McLaughlin and Elijah Stewart will graduate, while the likes of Chimezie Metu, Bennie Boatwright and Shaqquan Aaron, who considered early entrance into the NBA Draft this spring, are very likely to move onto the pros. The Trojans could also lose a young talent like De’Anthony Melton to the NBA.

CHECK OUT: NBA Mock Drafts Feature First Round Trojans

That makes the 2018 recruiting class all the more important. With four-star prospects Charles O’Bannon Jr. and Jordan Usher headlining the 2017 class, USC appears more and more equipped to handle the transition thanks to strong recruitment.