Spring Valley High 5-star point guard commits to USC

A agelong recruiting process often involves twists and turns, adjacent erstwhile it involves a prospect’s “dream school.”

That’s however Spring Valley constituent defender Aaliyah Gayles described Southern California aft committing to the schoolhouse Wednesday. She was antecedently committed to the Trojans earlier reneging connected that pledge successful November.

Gayles announced her determination connected Twitter.

“It’s been awhile since I decommitted from (USC), but I went backmost to sojourn and got to cognize the coaches and the players, the freshmen,” Gayles said. “I got to speech to them, and they gave maine a small acquisition of however my freshman clip would beryllium there. That made maine travel back, and I’m committed to their schoolhouse each the way.”

Gayles is simply a large signing for the Trojans. The 5-foot-9-inch constituent defender is simply a five-star enlistee who is ranked No. 8 successful the 2022 people by ESPN.

The well-rounded Gayles led the Grizzlies with 12.6 points, 2.8 assists and 3.7 steals and was 2nd with 6.4 rebounds per crippled arsenic a sophomore successful 2019-20 to assistance Spring Valley to the Class 4A authorities semifinals.

Gayles’ biggest spot is her axenic athleticism, which allows her to stroke past defenders and get to the handbasket with ease. Spring Valley manager Billy Hemberger said Gayles has developed her extracurricular changeable to the constituent that opponents can’t sag disconnected her to effort to support her retired of the lane.

“Her athleticism and what she brings to the array physically are not normal,” Hemberger said. “Nobody successful Vegas tin onslaught the rim the mode she does, and determination aren’t galore anyplace who tin similar she does.”

As bully arsenic she is offensively, Gayles points to her defence arsenic her biggest strength. The defence often allows her to get the Grizzlies successful modulation and flash her abilities successful the unfastened floor.

Gayles is primitively from the Los Angeles country and inactive has household there, truthful that was a origin successful her decision.

“That’s a large interaction connected maine due to the fact that my household won’t person to instrumentality a level oregon thing to ticker maine play,” Gayles said. “Knowing they’re determination makes maine comfortable.”

Hemberger said he’s arrogant of however Gayles handled the agelong recruiting process.

“Everybody and anybody has reached retired and wanted her, and it started her ninth people year,” Hemberger said. “It’s an exhausting process, but USC, I ever thought, would beryllium a bully fit. It’s adjacent to home, she tin play astatine a high-end university, and the acquisition she’ll get determination is conscionable insane.”

Contact Jason Orts astatine jorts@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SportsWithOrts connected Twitter.