Washington Huskies Basketball: Previewing Aaron Gordon’s Decision

It’s the day. Finally, it is the day that Aaron Gordon will choose where he will attend college and play basketball. What has felt like decades, but for some has been years and others months comes down to today. At 9:30 a.m. (or probably more like 10:00, knowing how these things go), the top prospect on the West Coast will decide between Arizona, Kentucky, Oregon and Washington.

Few people know for certain where he will choose and those who do know haven’t disclosed anything. In the past weeks, there have been flurries of tweets suggesting where Gordon will go to school. They all agree on something: He will go to college, most likely at one of the four aforementioned schools. What they differ on is exactly where.

Marshall Cherrington doesn’t think the times line up in the Gordon timeline, but ultimately believes he will choose the Wildcats.

Eldridge Recasner (who previously tweeted that he had sources saying Gordon to UA) says that the Steve Alford hire puts UCLA back in the picture for Gordon.

However, Evan Daniels puts those rumors to rest after speaking with Gordon.

There have been other reports of him to Oregon and everyone knows his history with Lorenzo Romar. The fact remains that he has been one of the few recruits that have been able to keep his commitment a secret until decision day and that is killing us. All we know are the four schools he will choose from. Here is what we think.

The Favorite: Arizona
The Wildcats have been in the picture for almost the entire time that Washington has, but were never considered the favorites until recently. Sean Miller apparently did a great job talking up Gordon’s involvement in their perimeter game. Whether that is realistic or not, it seems as though Gordon bought it. No Husky fan likes the idea of losing anything to Arizona, especially such a heralded recruit, but any rational person can see the reason behind the decision. The Wildcats have more recent success, more historical success and with Gordon, likely more future success. They don’t need Gordon to create a championship winning team, but he will make it a lot easier for Miller. Ultimately, it looks like he will choose the Wildcats based on pedigree and the pitch Miller made.

The Underdog: Washington
Like it or not, after years of recruitment, Lorenzo Romar finds himself as the underdog on decision day. He has been on Gordon’s trail since middle school and they have become very close. It seems to be the consensus that this won’t be enough when 9:30 rolls around. Gordon loves Washington, made clear by the fact that they are still in the the top four, likely the top two, at the end of his recruitment. It hasn’t been an easy decision for Gordon and much of that is due to Romar’s endless pursuit of the star forward. They aren’t favored to earn Gordon’s commitment, but it won’t be a surprise if he chooses the Huskies, as they were long thought as the favorites until recently.

The Dark Horse: Oregon
After their impressive season and Sweet 16 run, Gordon announced that the Ducks were back in play for his services. With Oregon comes lots of flash and an exciting system to play in. Dana Altman is one of the best coaches in the conference and showed it, tying for second in the Pac-12 with a team built with transfers. It’s hard for a recruit not to be interested in Oregon, at least a little. It is an exciting concept to play for a team that provides you with the top-notch equipment and newest uniforms in the game. While the amenities of being the showcase of Nike is appealing and playing for a fantastic coach like Altman is enticing, I doubt it is enough. Each program has top-notch facilities and equipment of their own as well as esteemed coaches. It was a case of too little, too late for Oregon, I think.

The one team that didn’t get categorized was Kentucky and while I think John Calipari brings with him a unique aura, there is just too much talent for one team. Gordon realizes that and will most likely pick a school at which he can star, or at least stick out, at.

I’m not foolish enough to predict where Gordon will land, so I’ll let you decipher the information and decide for yourself. If you want to know for sure, stick to your Twitter feeds at 9:30 a.m. PDT and come here right after for an analysis of his decision, no matter which school he picks.