High School Sports

News and commentary on high-school sports around Puget Sound.

Surrounded by his teammates and his mother, Madinah, Rainier Beach junior guard Shaqquan Aaron announced his commitment to Louisville on Saturday.

“It’s just a perfect fit,” Aaron said.

Aaron, a 6-foot-7 guard, is a four-star recruit according to Scout.com and Rivals.com. He is considered the state’s best junior and is versatile enough to play everything from point guard to a forward in the post.

When it came to the recruiting process, Aaron knew what he wanted. And he found it at Louisville, the school where former Rainier Beach star Terrence Williams attended. Franklin’s Peyton Siva is now playing for legendary Louisville coach Rick Pitino.

“The first thing I asked the players was, ‘How is coach P? Is Coach P a hard coach?’” Aaron said. “And they were like, ‘If you don’t want to be coached, this isn’t the college you want to go to.’ Coach (Mike) Bethea, my high school coach, really coaches me, and I fit right in. So I was thinking, If I want a good coach to get ready for the next level, I want to play for a coach that is going to be hard on me. I like how coach P is going to push me every time.”

Aaron is one of the area’s best scorers, averaging nearly 20 points this season. But he is also a skilled passer and ball handler. He also had offers from UCLA, Syracuse, UNLV, Arizona and Washington.

Aaron, who visited Louisville two weeks ago and said he was recruited as a point-forward, is in his first year at Rainier Beach after moving from California.

“Let’s be real: He has the talent,” Bethea said. “He reminds us a lot of Jamal Crawford with his ability to shoot from outside and to handle the ball at 6-foot-7. That makes him special.”