Iowa State Basketball: Darius McNeill released from Letter of Intent

Previously an Iowa State basketball commit, class of 2017 recruit Darius McNeill has been released from his letter of intent to play with the Cyclones.

Darius McNeill, a three-star recruit according to 247Sports, was a heavily sought after recruit prior to signing his letter of intent to play for Iowa State on November 9th of 2016. As of June 14th, he has been let out of his letter of intent and will be pursuing a different school.

247Sports has McNeill listed as the 16th best recruit in Texas and the 47th ranked shooting guard in the nation for the Class of 2017. For this recruiting class, Iowa State is now down to just two recruits, both four stars according to 247Sports: Lindell Wigginton and Terrance Lewis. This class, based on only having two recruits, is ranked 54th in the country and seventh in the Big 12.

Iowa State will be in a tough place to recover following several offseason losses. First, their graduating class was strong, consisting of Deonte Burton, Monte Morris, Matt Thomas, Naz Mitrou-Long, Darrell Bowie, and Merrill Holden. Then, both Simeon Carter and Ray Kosongo transferred. Lastly, McNeill has been let out of his letter of intent and will pursue another opportunity.

Prior to signing with the Cyclones, McNeill had been offered by Baylor, Cincinnati, SMU, and more.

Although not listed as one of the top recruits in the country, Darius McNeill is a fluid athlete and strong shooter than can really help a team. Wherever he ends up, that team will be very happy to have him, especially since he will be eligible to play right away.

As far as Iowa State goes, they now have two open scholarship spots and head coach Steve Prohm will have several options as far as how to fill them.

Next: MiKyle McIntosh chooses Oregon

Following the progression of McNeill and Iowa State throughout the rest of this offseason will certainly be an interesting storyline.