Wearing his father’s uniform and smiling ear to ear 4-star guard and Philadelphia product Levan Alston made his announcement, verbally committing to Temple University early Tuesday morning.
Penn State hosted Alston this past weekend for an official visit but faced an uphill battle against Temple after one of Alston’s AAU teammates committed to Temple coupled with the history of the Alston family in the program.
Even so, Alston would have given Penn State a fourth four-star player out of the last five players to verbally commit to Patrick Chambers and his staff.
In a similar vein, unlike in recent years when Penn State has tried to center a recruiting class around one big fish, Penn State’s recruiting this cycle did not hinge on the decision of a single recruit.
While Alston would have finished off Penn State’s 2015 recruiting efforts with a bang the Nittany Lions will still bring in four-star talents Mike Watkins and Josh Reaves along with 3-star forward Deividas Zemgulis. It puts Chambers in the unique situation of being disappointed that he could not land Alston’s services but still on solid footing after months and months on the recruiting trail.
Penn State has a single scholarship remaining for the 2015 recruiting class. Who ends up with that spot remains to be seen. The Nittany Lion coaching staff had largely pushed for Alston as the final piece to the recruiting class. Several skills camp attendees still hold offers from Penn State but none stand out as the obvious No. 1 option moving forward although things are likely more obvious within the walls of the Bryce Jordan Center.
Ultimately though, Penn State’s 2015 recruiting haul is still one of the best in the modern era of the program. A final commitment, even if less regarded than the likes of Alston, would still give Penn State a strong incoming class for 2015.
It’s also entirely possible that Penn State will hold on to that last scholarship for the 2016 recruiting cycle to continue to find support for four-star forward Joe Hampton who committed to Penn State in early August. Penn State would have four openings for 2016 if Chambers were to hold the remaining 2015 scholarship.
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