Five-Star Plus+ SF commits to the Alabama Crimson Tide
Nate Oats and his staff at Alabama continue to have success recruiting five-star prospects from Prolific Prep in Napa (Calif.).
On Friday, the Crimson Tide landed a commitment from elite small forward Derrion Reid. Reid, a Grovetown (Ga.) native, committed to Bama over a final group of Florida State and Georgia. Last month, Alabama signed one of Reid’s teammates from Prolific Prep: Five-star center Aiden Sherrell.
There were plenty of twists and turns in the recruitment of Derrion Reid. Reid was previously expected to announce his decision on Oct. 28, but ended up postponing that commitment date. The Georgia Bulldogs were heavily in consideration for Reid, who is the No. 12 overall prospect in this class.
Coach’s Take: New Alabama commit is “extremely versatile” (On3+)
Analysis/Breakdown of new Alabama commit Derrion Reid (On3+)
In the end, Alabama — which hosted Reid for an official visit in October — wound up on top for the Five-Star Plus+ recruit.
“They’ve been here for the longest,” Reid told BamaOnLine shortly after Thanksgiving. “They stuck with me for the longest… just the coaches, the environment, the support staff. Just how tight they are. Obviously, my teammate — Aiden — is going there. It’s just been growing.”
Reid spent plenty of time around Bama’s coaches on his official visit, most notably Austin Claunch, Preston Murphy, and Oats himself. That Oct. 21-22 trip to Tuscaloosa was Reid’s final official visit of his recruitment.
The staff’s message resonated with the fourth-ranked small forward in his class.
“They’re trying to keep on building on to the program,” Reid told BOL after his official visit. “I can have an immediate impact. Being able to develop me into the pro I want to be… telling me I’m a priority. They’re trying to get to a championship, and I can help them get there.
“They were saying this is where I should be,” Reid added. “They’re saying this feels like home for you. They want to get me to that next level.”
Along with Reid and Sherrell in the fold, Alabama signed Southern California Academy product Naas Cunningham last month. Entering Friday, the Tide had the No. 9 overall recruiting class in the 2024 cycle. All three of their recruits in this class are top-50 overall players, per the On3 Industry Rankings.
Stay tuned to BamaOnLine for continued coverage of Derrion Reid’s commitment and Alabama basketball’s recruiting efforts.
On3 Scouting Report on new Bama commit Derrion Reid
“Derrion Reid has a great frame with good length. He is a good athlete that runs the floor extremely well, with a purpose. You like the upside he shows on the defensive end of the floor. He has the ability to slide his feet on the ball, and he has good anticipation in the passing lanes. He also has shown good court vision in the half-court. Standing in the 6-7 range, his ability to find the open man in the half-court or full-court setting can be a weapon.
“He has a great frame with good length. Reid has spent time re-tooling the jump shot; he shot 37.8% from three on the EYBL Circuit. He is a good rebounder and can knock down a mid-range pull-up. Reid is aggressive in transition and finishes with explosion at the rim. He has good timing on the defensive end, both in the passing lanes and as a help-side shot blocker. There are a lot of natural tools in play for Reid,” On3’s Jamie Shaw wrote.
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