TCU basketball recruiting: Shawn Olden commits to Horned Frogs
By Doug Winkey
TCU basketball recruiting just keeps rolling with their second commit in a week. This one comes from JUCO guard Shawn Olden.
TCU recruiting just doesn’t stop. Less than a week after snagging a verbal from Baltimore’s Andre Rafus, Jr., Jamie Dixon grabs former Pepperdine and New Mexico [NM] JC shooting guard Shawn Olden.
Olden stands 6’3″ and is listed at 175 pounds. He had a tremendous campaign in junior college where he averaged 16.6 points and 4.2 rebounds. He also shot 37% from deep, which helps a team that shoots 35% from range and graduates its top player in threes made this year. Olden averaged 9.2 points as a freshman for Pepperdine and was an All-WCC freshman selection. He left the Waves after an ankle injury cut short a promising sophomore campaign.
Olden originally hails from Tulsa, OK, and has the experience to reinforce some of the progress Coach Dixon is making with his young guard corps. He might not start, but he should play a big role with his experience. The Frogs will still have Alex Robinson, Jaylen Fisher, Desmond Bane and freshman R.J. Nembhard in the backcourt, but all save Robinson will be sophomore or younger.
Olden picked TCU despite visiting both UConn and Kansas at different times. Getting any player away from those programs, regardless of how hard they wanted him, is a big boost for a program on the rise like TCU. It also helps Dixon potentially build a pipeline into both New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Next: Tough second year for Shaka Smart and Texas
The only concern I have about Shawn Olden’s verbal is that it puts the program over the 13 scholarship limit by one. I currently count 14 potential scholarships, but someone could transfer or walk-on yet. This is still a great grab for the program to help increase their Big 12 competitiveness.