Two 2018’s Commit Sunday
Martin Luther King Jr. weekend is traditionally packed with basketball.
Two Class of 2018 players in Tennessee used the Sunday preceding MLK Day to verbally commit to their colleges.
First, 2018 PG Chase Ridenour committed to Tennessee Tech University.
“Preferred walk on,” said Chase Ridenour in an interview with @PrepHoopsTN Sunday evening. “They’ve been recruiting me since my sophomore. We stayed in touch after I hurt my knee this summer. I visited yesterday and watched them play Murray State. I called Coach (Jason) Taylor and committed this morning.”
Assistant Coach Jason Taylor is the longest tenured assistant in Head Coach Steve Payne’s program.
In the Class of 2018, TTU has Ridenour on board along with signees Caden Mills (PrepHoopsTN #7), Garrett Golday (PrepHoopsTN #11), and Junior Clay (PrepHoopsTN #18).
This is the best in-state recruiting Tennessee Tech has done in years. For example, the current Golden Eagle roster includes just five Tennessee-raised players. In six short months the team will add at least four more (TTU has one open scholarship left).
Reece Wilkerson (Miami Norland HS, FL) is verbally committed, but still unsigned for TTU.
Ridenour joins the large 2018 class and looks forward to his college career.
“It’s high level basketball,” said Chase Ridenour. “They are mid-major in the Ohio valley Conference (OVC). It’s close to home. I’ve already been on campus a few times for camps so I was familiar with everything. I’ve known the coaches for a few years.”
Ultimately, the Knoxville Webb guard leaned upon his parents when making this important decision.
“I’m really close with my parents (Darren, Tina) and we had an agreement that Tennessee Tech is a place I can grow as a player and person,” said Chase Ridenour.
As we enter mid-January Chase’s Knoxville Webb Spartans are 17-3. They only lost to The Baylor School, North Mecklenburg (NC), and Bearden.
Canadian Kevaughn Ellis
Early in 2017, Kevaughn Ellis (Hamilton, Ontario) transferred to Hamilton Heights Christian Academy. The explosive guard made a splash with UPlay Canada 17u in July, but continued to impress with HHCA as a starting guard all fall.
He was spectacular in the Bartlett Invitational early in December.
Sunday facing Our Savior New American, the 20th best player in the state struggled (0-6 FG’s). It was like his head was somewhere else.
Turns out…it was.
Kevaughn selected Sunday, his 19th birthday, as the announcement date.
Kevaughn is an explosive combo guard capable of providing a coach with a secondary ball-handler. He thrives attacking from the wing and works hard in practice. Areas for improvement include on-ball defense and consistency. Kevaughn Ellis is the second Hamilton Heights Christian Academy senior to verbally commit (Uros Plavsic-Cleveland State). Physically he is ready to play college basketball immediately.