With one of the Pac-12’s top 2018 recruiting classes -- even with the loss of Taeshon Cherry -- set to enroll this summer, USC has moved on to filling the spots in its 2019 class. On Monday the USC program picked up its first verbal commitment in the class, with 6-foot-9 power forward Onyeka Okongwu announcing that he will don the cardinal and gold when the time comes.
USC Trojan... Couldn’t get any better. Thank you all for the love and support ❤️ #RIPNnamdi #Committed pic.twitter.com/72FYWkO55D
— Onyeka Okongwu (@BigO21_) May 14, 2018
Okongwu attends Chino Hills HS, where he led the team to the CIF-SS Division I title this season, and he plays his grassroots basketball for the Compton Magic program. While there are still some strides for Okongwu to make offensively, should he be able to transition to being a power forward who can step away from the basket, he’s an elite talent on the defensive end of the floor.
Okongwu’s commitment is a big first step for USC with regards to the 2019 recruiting class, especially when considering everything the program had to deal with in the fall.
Former assistant Tony Bland was one of ten indicted in the FBI’s probe into corruption and bribes in college basketball/recruiting, and that led to some wondering that the effects would be on USC’s recruiting both in the short and long-term. But Andy Enfield and his staff managed to put together a good 2018 class, featuring guard Kevin Porter Jr., and to land a player of Okongwu’s talent is certainly a good start to the program’s 2019 class.
Add in the fact that the Trojans are also in the running for highly-regarded southern California based talents such as 2019 guard Cassius Stanley, 2019 forward Isaiah Mobley, 2020 forward Evan Mobley (Isaiah’s brother) and 2020 guard Johnny Juzang, and USC is well-positioned to continue to be a factor within the Pac-12 moving forward.