No. 1 SG Keyonte George sets commitment date

Chris Beard’s first class in Austin may be on pace to add yet another elite-level piece in the coming days, as top-ranked shooting guard Keyonte George out of the Lewisville iSchool is set to announce his college decision on Aug. 8.

Regarded as the top prospect at his position and as the No. 4 player nationally, per the 247Sports Composite, George will choose from a list that features Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Kentucky.

The five-star talent has long held an offer from the Longhorns, as Shaka Smart and his staff were among the first to offer George during the summer of 2019. Of course, Smart and his staff have since been replaced by Chris Beard and his staff, but there’s still that level of familiarity after Texas Tech extended an offer under Beard’s direction and was prioritizing George.

“Coach Ulric Maligi called me and told me that I was one of the first players that they were calling,” George told 247Sports of his recruitment and relationship with the former Red Raiders assistant. “They wanted to make sure that I knew that I was still a priority as they made the move from Texas Tech to Texas so that was big for me.”

That familiarity helped the Longhorns land one of George’s official visits in early June, and essentially every bit of the momentum in his recruitment has shifted towards Texas ever since.

If George does join Texas’ 2022 class, he’ll not only become the new headliner as the first five-star composite recruit of Beard’s tenure in Austin, but he’ll join his future high school teammate, four-star Texas point guard pledge Arterio Morris, who recently transferred to the Lewisville iSchool from Dallas Kimball.

In the aftermath of his mid-July commitment to the Longhorns, Morris told Stadium’s Jeff Goodman that he’d be active in recruiting George to join him in Austin.

“I might pressure him a lot because a lot of people really want to see that,” Morris told Goodman of how he’ll recruit George. “Just gonna keep asking until it gets irritating.”

At his late stage, it appears that Morris, Beard and the burnt orange nation at large will get their wish, as all three of George’s Crystal Ball favors Texas.