By Jerry Ratcliffe

The nation’s top high school center prospect, Arafan Diane, announced Wednesday that he had committed to Houston.

Diane, a 7-foot, 290-pound big man, chose Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars over Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia and Arkansas. While Houston was considered the favorite, Indiana made a strong push at the end.

The No. 21 overall prospect in the recruiting class of 2026, the physically dominating Diane led the spring/summer Adidas 3SSB circuit by averaging 10.8 rebounds per game. He also averaged 18.6 points per game.