Late last week Creighton‘s Greg McDermott got his first Class of 2017 commitment from Ty-Shon Alexander — a 6’4” guard from Charlotte, North Carolina, who currently plays for perennial high school power Oak Hill Academy (VA). Alexander, a player with great size at his position and who projects as a natural shooter, chose the Bluejays over Clemson and Virginia Tech. ESPN ranks him at #50 nationally in its 2017 Top 60, while 247Sports ranks him at #108 in its national composite.
Since he hasn’t yet started his junior prep campaign, it is way too early to project how his game will translate to the next level when he gets to Omaha. What really stands out already, though, is his comfort using both hands to handle the ball and finish at the rim. He will have the opportunity to play with Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster, a former all-Big 12 selection who will be a redshirt senior during Alexander’s freshman campaign. That 2017-18 season will be Creighton’s fifth in a major basketball conference, and at that point the caliber of players on the roster should be completely turned over. High-level recruits such as Ronnie Harrell (Class of 2014) and Justin Patton (Class of 2015) will by then be veterans and Alexander will just be the next name to add to the list.
While Creighton enjoyed a magnificent first season in the Big East with National Player of the Year Doug McDermott in tow, the Bluejays crashed back down to earth last year as their talent deficiency in moving from the MVC to the Big East became more stark. They couldn’t find ways to win a number of close contests and as a result finished with only four Big East victories. One of the primary deficiencies with last year’s team was its overall field goal percentage of 42 percent (255th nationally), but the recent influx of better talent, Alexander included, should directly improve upon that dismal showing. It remains to be seen how the momentum of this commitment will impact the rest of Creighton’s recruiting in both the Classes of 2016 and 2017, but it certainly shouldn’t hurt. Talented players typically look to play with other talented players, and it will be up to McDermott to deliver them.