Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Arkansas lands 2018 forward to secure commitments from entire starting five of local AAU team

Arkansas has protected its home territory well with younger players as the Razorbacks landed another quality pledge on Monday.

Four-star forward Ethan Henderson decided to commit to Arkansas as he announced his decision on Twitter.

Not only is Henderson a top-100 player in the Class of 2018, but he gives Arkansas four commitments in the Class of 2018 -- and commitments from the entire starting five of the Arkansas Hawks 16U team.

Henderson is joined in the Class of 2018 by four-star forward Reggie Perry, three-star guard Desi Sills and three-star guard Isaiah Joe. Class of 2019 in-state guard Justice Hill, the other starter on that Arkansas Hawks team, is also pledged to the Razorbacks. Having commitments from five starters from the same AAU program is unprecedented in recruiting -- especially when most college programs don’t have four commitments from the Class of 2017 yet.

Regarded as the No. 85 overall prospect in the Class of 2018, according to Rivals, Henderson is a nice fit for what head coach Mike Anderson wants to do as he moves well and rebounds at a high level.

With Anderson sitting on the hot seat due to a lack of NCAA tournament appearances, it’ll be interesting to see if this jump in recruiting helps with his job security. Obviously, winning and making postseason appearances is vital to Anderson retaining his job, but it will make the Arkansas athletic department think a little bit harder if they need to make a decision. Henderson and Perry are legitimate top-100 prospects and the Hawks have been one of the most successful AAU teams at that age group in the country the last few years so owning commitments from all of them certainly doesn’t hurt.