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Terrance Ferguson reopens recruitment; Longhorns a legitimate option?

Can Shaka Smart manage to reel in yet another elite in-state guard for his first recruiting class?

By Cody Daniel

News recently surfaced that five-star Advanced Prep International (TX) shooting guard decommitted from Alabama, and has now reopened his recruitment.

There was concern this decision was inevitable after Ferguson elected to not sign his Letter of Intent during the early signing period. Ferguson noted that Alabama was still a potential landing spot, and he just wanted to take time to make sure this decision was the correct one, it's unlikely to see Ferguson commit to Avery Johnson and the Crimson Tide once again after backing out of his pledge so late.

Now, alongside Alabama, ESPN reports the teams in play for Ferguson's services are Kansas, Baylor, Maryland, Texas, and Arizona.

It's not hard to see why each of the aforementioned programs are under consideration. Kansas and Arizona are perennial powerhouses.. Maryland has grown into much of the same in the recent years, and has the fan support sure to catch any recruit's eye. And being from Dallas, there's little reason to wonder why Baylor is in the mix, as well as the state's flagship university just 100 miles south of Waco.

As of now, Baylor looks to be the heavy favorite, per 247Sports Cyrstal Ball. The Bears immediately started trending following his decommittment with 12 of 13 projections favoring the Bears. The one other projection was to Kansas.

It doesn't take much to recognize the signs indicating Waco as his likely destination. As noted as the primary reason for reopening his recruitment, Ferguson needs some time to sort things out after losing his grandmother. This could ultimately play a decision-deciding factor in the 6-7, 180-pound guard wanting to stay much, much closer to home and his family to play college ball. And when you consider wing positions are interchangeable and the Bears are losing small forward, Taurean Prince to graduation and the NBA, there's a gaping hole needing to be filled, which Ferguson could do immediately. Ferguson was also reportedly on campus when Baylor hosted Kansas February 23.

While he trip to Austin is only another hour and a half down I-35, the backcourt landscape looks much more congested, with a likely wing rotation including Eric Davis Jr., Kerwin Roach Jr., Tevin Mack, Kendal Yancy, five-star combo guard Andrew Jones, and four star combo guard Jacob Young; a much less appealing destination from an immediate opportunities standpoint.

But there's no telling what Shaka Smart can make happen once he's able to start establishing relationships with these young men, especially one that just lost a clearly significant member of their life. But with Kansas likely losing Wayne Selden Jr., to the NBA, and the reality that Bill Self and Kansas are still Bill Self and Kansas, it's hard to envision a scenario where Ferguson isn't playing in the Big 12 next year. My guess is that will be much closer to home for a Baylor team looking to reload.

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