Iowa State basketball recruiting: Rashad Vaughn chooses UNLV Rebels

Five-star basketball recruit Rashad Vaughn chooses the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels over the Iowa State Cyclones.

Jul 18, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Team USA Midwest player Rashad Vaughn (9) dribbles the ball against Team Brasil during the Nike Global Challenge at Trinity University in Washington, DC. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

During Inside College Basketball on CBS Sports Network, Vaughn appeared on the show to make his decision.

“Next year, I will be attending UNLV,” Vaughn said as he donned a Runnin’ Rebels cap. “Me and [head coach Dave] Rice kicked off a relationship from the jump. I liked everything he was talking about. Me and my family decided that this was the best for me. With the recruiting class, I think we can do something great.”

Vaughn also believed that with the team they have next year they could “win a national championship” and he “felt most comfortable in [UNLV’s] style of play.”

The announcement didn’t come as a surprise. Earlier in the day, the Ames Tribune reported that Vaughn notified Iowa State hours before the decision that he picked to go to UNLV.

The Findlay Prep guard chooses UNLV not only over the Iowa State, but also over Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina. However, due to process of elimination with other recruits, it became a contest between the Cyclones and Rebels.

College basketball analysts predicted that Vaughn would head to UNLV. There’s just too much connection between Findlay Prep that’s in Nevada and his advisor, Pete Kaffey, who’s an assistant on the Findlay Prep staff.

While it’s a bummer for Iowa State that they couldn’t lock in a highly-touted recruit like Vaughn, especially with him being on their sights for nearly three years, it’s obviously not the end of the world.

During that time we’ve seen head coach Fred Hoiberg bring together transfers with a lot of talent, and there will be no shortage of that with continuing success.

Despite not picking Iowa State, good luck to Rashad Vaughn at UNLV and the rest of his basketball future.