Iowa State Basketball: Talen Horton-Tucker commits to the Cyclones
Iowa State basketball is expected to have a down season this year. The future, though, keeps looking solid with the commitment of Talen Horton-Tucker.
Head coach Steve Prohm has been excellent since taking over for Fred Hoiberg in 2015. He has reached the NCAA Tournament in each of his first two seasons, reaching the Sweet 16 once. In his time, he has coached players such as Monte Morris, Deonte Burton, and Nazareth Mitrou-Long. All three of these players graduated after the 2016-17 season and although the program might take a step back this season, the future continues to look bright for the Iowa State Cyclones.
After snagging Lindell Wigginton, a top-50 recruit, and Terrence Lewis (No. 118) for the 2017 recruiting class, Coach Prohm is off to a great start for his class of 2018. After already receiving three commitments in the class, the Cyclones added another one in Talen Horton-Tucker on Oct. 26.
Horton-Tucker, the No. 109 recruit in the country by 247Sports Composite ranking, is a 6’5″ wing with tons of potential. He chose Iowa State over Xavier and in-state Illinois.
While flashing elite scoring ability over the summer, he rose up recruiting rankings to the No. 4 recruit in the state of Illinois. While playing in five games for Team Rose on the Adidas Gauntlet, Horton-Tucker averaged 18.2 points and seven rebounds per game while shooting over 40% from the field.
Although the most impressive thing about Horton-Tucker’s game is his ability to score at all three levels, he is a capable secondary or tertiary playmaker as well as being a solid wing rebounder. He is an all-around player that can be asked to do a variety of things while on the floor. This versatility will be welcomed by the Cyclones and Coach Prohm when he steps on the court for the 2018-19 season.
After visiting Iowa State on Oct. 13, Horton-Tucker had this to say (via CycloneAlert):
"“I liked it a lot. I had fun with the guys that committed and with the players they have now. Coming and being around Iowa State [so] much has almost been like a vacation. They’ve seen me and I’ve seen them a lot and we’ve been talking for almost two years.”"
Horton-Tucker joins Zion Griffin, Tyrese Haliburton, and George Conditt in the class of 2018 for Iowa State, which currently ranks in the top-25 in the nation. Horton-Tucker is the highest-rated recruit currently in the class and with a strong upcoming campaign, he could easily be a top-100 recruit in the nation.
Next: 2017-18 season preview for Iowa State
The expectation for him will be to come in and provide an instant impact for Iowa State and the Hilton Magic. Overall, this is an excellent recruit that continues the trend of Illinois high school players choosing to play for Coach Prohm. In this class, he has now secured the No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 recruits from the state. If this pipeline continues, watch out for Iowa State to be making more recruiting headlines in the future.