Relationships will be an important part of Taeshon Cherry's decision

NEWBURY PARK, California – Top-30 small forward Taeshon Cherry has a collection of options to choose from and that is why he recently trimmed his list down to eight schools. The San Diego-St. Augustine standout will play at either Arizona, Florida State, Gonzaga, Oregon, San Diego State, Texas A&M, UCLA or USC. Once again playing this spring with the Oakland Soldiers on the Nike EYBL circuit the 2018 prospect has been able to get a feel for which programs fit him best and now he is on his way toward the next step in making a decision.

Cherry said he plans to sign in the early period this November, so now that he has narrowed his focus taking some more trips will be the next big part of the process. The four-star recruit has plenty of factors to consider as he looks to which programs will earn his five official visits, but it is clear that his relationships with both coaching staffs and his fellow recruits will play a large part in his decision.

The 6-foot-8 standout small forward has had time to build relationships with all the coaching staffs recruiting him since most jumped into the process early in his high school career. Cherry says Texas A&M, with head coach Billy Kennedy and assistant Amir Abdur-Rahim leading the way, has built the strongest relationship with him heading into the summer. However, all of the schools left on his list have been able to build a strong relationship with him in some capacity.

When he runs through his list and why those eight schools made it the word "relationship" comes up in each instance.

Arizona and Sean Miller have been recruiting the San Diego-based recruit for years now and once again it his relationship with the coaching staff that stands out with the Wildcats. However, the addition of Lorenzo Romar to Miller's staff this spring has added a new dimension to the process for UA and Cherry.

“Arizona is a great school,” Cherry said. “Coach Miller and I have had a great relationship the past couple years. He’s a great guy. Coach Romar coming there is big for me because he recruited me at Washington, so I have a great relationship with every coach on that staff.”

The addition of Romar is not something to take lightly as the former Washington head coach is viewed at as more than just someone he would play for in college by Cherry. Their relationship goes a bit deeper than that.

"I paid attention a lot to it, because coach Romar is like a dad and he's a coach at the same time," Cherry said of Arizona's newest associated head coach hire. "So, I'm getting the best of both worlds if I go that school because coach Miller is going to be tough and coach Romar will help me get through coach Miller's toughness. He's a great coach, man, I love coach Romar."

So, relationships with coaches are a big part of his upcoming decision this fall but maybe more important than that will be his relationships with players. While he will spend plenty of time with the coaching staff he will eventually spend even more time with his teammates at the next level and for Cherry he has a couple close friends who are already tugging him in different directions. Fellow San Diego-based recruit Miles Norris recently committed to Oregon while Arizona locked up a commitment from Shareef O'Neal this spring. Both are his buddies and both want him where they will be next summer.

Deciding on if he wants to play with his friends or go his own route will be something he has to consider in the coming months, but it is something he is thinking about.

"I'm looking at it a lot," Cherry said. "It seems like everybody is recruiting me and all my friends are recruiting me too. Every time I talk to somebody they're talking about going to their school. It's a big thing for me having friendships and keeping those friendships alive when I go to school."

When it comes to the Wildcats that means O'Neal and Arizona is plenty aware of that bond and how make its case to Cherry to keep it going at the college level.

"Shareef going there is big for me, because he's a good friend of mine," he said. "I think we could play good together if he's the four and I'm the three we could go through ball screens and we could work some two-man action. Their pitch to me is just me and Shareef and then getting Emmanuel (Akot) to reclassify clearing up the spot on the wing for me to go in there and do what I do."

In four wins for the Oakland Soldiers over the weekend Cherry averaged 11.5 points and 9.8 rebounds.