It’s over 2,300 miles from the University of Louisville campus to Seattle, Wash. Despite the distance, it hasn’t stopped Rick Pitino from landing some of the Pacific Northwest’s top talent.
Rainier Beach High School small forward Shaqquan Aaron, considered a top-30 player in the Class of 2014 by Rivals.com, committed to Louisville on Saturday. The 6-foot-8 Aaron, who lived in California until this year, will become the third Rain City product to play for Louisville under Pitino. Peyton Siva is the current Seattle native playing for the Cards while Terrence Williams, who also went to Rainier Beach suited up for Louisville from 2005-2009.
“Of course we have history there with Terrence going there, and we’re pretty close with Peyton Siva,” Rainier Beach head coach Mike Bethea told Steve Jones of the Courier-Journal. “It’s just one of those things where you feel comfortable and know it’s the right fit. He came back (from the visit), and he was just blown away by it.”
Aaron had offers from Connecticut, California and UCLA, according to Rivals. Kansas and Kentucky were also involved in his recruitment. He joins Ballard High School (Ky.) point guard and Louisville native Quentin Snider as members of the Cardinals’ 2014 class.
The versatile wing is averaging 23 points, and six assists in his junior season at Rainier Beach.
Terrence is also the lead writer at NEHoopNews.com and can be followed on Twitter: @terrence_payne