Fourth of July Fireworks Continue to Fly, as Alabama Basketball Picks Up a Big Time Commit

Four-star forward Alex Tchikou, is headed to play his college basketball in Tuscaloosa.

Tchikou was set to commit in 2021, but on June 29th he decided to reclassify to the 2020 class.

Alabama first offered Tchikou back in January, but were unsure about their chances of landing the big time prospect. Things started to turn in the Tide's favor on Friday, after a majority of the 24/7 Sports Crystal Ball experts, predicted he'd commit to Alabama.

Other finalists in the mix, were Oregon, Arizona, Saint Mary’s, St. John’s, USC, Florida State and Illinois.

Tchikou was the No. 40 player in the 2021 class and No. 10 power forward, per 247Sports composite rankings.

Before playing basketball for Dream City Christian in Glendale, Arizona and Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada, Tchikou played in France. The 6-foot-11 PF started his playing days playing for Centre Fédéral de Basket-ball, a French basketball club, based in Paris.

He has above average handles and a pretty impressive outside shot for his height and can be a disruptor around the rim on defense.

Because of these impressive skills, he's drawn comparison to current Toronto Raptor, Pacal Siakam and Milwaukee Bucks MVP front-runner Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Siakam and Tchikou actually met back in February when the NBA held their sixth annual Basketball Without Borders event. Siakam was a coach and mentor for the top 64 boys and girls from 34 countries and regions.

Tchikou joins a very impressive Alabama 2020 recruiting class that already has four-stars Keon Ambrose -Hylton, and Joshua Primo.  Before adding Tchikou, Alabama was ranked #22 by 24/7 sports, but with his addition they'll likely jump into the top 20.

Head coach Nate Oats and assistant coach Bryan Hodgson have done a phenomenal job of landing high quality players, and it doesn't seem like that'll be coming to an end anytime soon.