Coveted 4-star PG Courtney Ramey commits to Texas over Louisville, Missouri, others

For the third time in as many years, Shaka Smart’s most notable recruiting victory was his last of the cycle, with the latest coming the the form of coveted Saint Louis (Mo.) Webster Groves, who made a surprise commitment to the Texas Longhorns on Friday.

A former Louisville Cardinals commit, Ramey reopened his recruitment last September after Rick Pitino’s program became the focus of an FBI investigation. In the months since, the four-star floor general became one of the most sought after prospects on the market, with programs such as Missouri, Louisville, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Ohio State, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois and SMU seeking his services.

However, Ramey played his second recruitment much more patiently and for the most part, he kept things close to the vest, leaving little indication as to which way he was leaning.

On April 6, Ramey did release a late top 10 featuring each of those schools, and of course, Texas. Even then, speculation that Missouri, Louisville and even Illinois were among the frontrunners was little more than speculation. In the meantime, various coaches — Smart included — continued to visit Ramey, and in the case of Louisville, Ramey returned the favor on April 24, unofficially visiting what’s now Chris Mack’s program.

However, that late trip to Louisville wasn’t enough to get Ramey’s focus entirely back on The Bluegrass, and instead, the elite out-of-state floor general becomes the headliner of Smart’s third top-10 class in as many years.

2018 class rankings — No. 8 nationally, No. 2 in Big 12

• Courtney Ramey — 4-star PG — No. 40 nationally
• Gerald Liddell — 4-star SF — No. 47 nationally
• Kamaka Hepa — 4-star PF — No. 53 nationally
• Jaxson Hayes — 4-star PF — No. 96 nationally
• Brock Cunningham — 3-star SF — No. 202 nationally