2017 wing Arop becomes NUs youngest commit

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This summer couldn't have gone much better for Omaha South sophomore Aguek Arop.

While averaging roughly 15 points and 10 rebounds per game to help guide the Omaha Elite 15U squad to a 39-4 record and a top-10 national ranking this past AAU season, the 6-foot-4, 185-pound forward picked up his first scholarship offer from Tim Miles and home-state Nebraska on July 13.

On Monday morning, Arop capped off his summer in a big way by announcing his verbal commitment to the Huskers during a formal assembly at his school. He becomes NU's first commit of the 2017 class, and is believed to be the program's youngest ever verbal pledge. Former Omaha Burke standout Roy Enright had been the earliest known commit when he announced he would be a Husker following his sophomore season in 2000.

"On my first unofficial visit a couple weeks ago, Coach Miles talked to me and I just knew I didn't want to be anywhere else," Arop said. "Coach Miles, the whole coaching staff really; it just felt like the perfect fit."

Arop also becomes the first instate high school commit since Enright, Grand Island's Wes Wilkinson and Omaha Burke's Jason Dourisseau joined in the 2002 class under former head coach Barry Collier.

Shortly following his AAU season, Arop made unofficial visits to Nebraska and Creighton but only held the lone offer from NU prior to making his decision. Other schools were also beginning to show serious, including Iowa, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Harvard. Rather than let his recruiting process play out over the next couple of years before making a decision, Arop said he didn't feel the need to look anywhere else than NU.

"I thought about (holding out for more offers) at first, but after I went down there, I didn't even care about getting more offers. I knew that was where I wanted to go."

Arop certainly does bring a wide array of skills to the court. In helping guide the Packers to a 20-6 record and a No. 2 seed in the 2013-14 Class A state tournament, he averaged 6.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game as a freshman. Not only is Arop succeeding on the court, he's also getting the job done in the classroom. He posted a 3.4 GPA last year at South, and he doesn't even own a cell phone.

Based on the types of players Miles and his staff have brought into Nebraska since taking over three years ago, Arop looks to be yet another a perfect fit for what the Huskers are looking for.

"This was actually a very easy decision for me personally," Arop said. "I will get to play in the best basketball conference in the country in the Big Ten and play for who I feel is the best coach in the country in Coach Miles and his excellent coaching staff, while getting the best education around.

"I am excited to represent the state of Nebraska and make you all proud. Go Big Red."

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