SAN DIEGO – San Diego State's men's basketball program inked a pair of high school players on Wednesday, inking guard Taj Degourville and forward Pharaoh Compton to National Letters of Intent during the opening of the Fall signing period. The twosome will begin competing for the Scarlet and Black beginning in the 2024-25 school year.
Degourville, a native of Las Vegas who is attending Wasatch Academy in Mt. Pleasant, Utah this year, is a 6-5, 215-pound guard and a four-star recruit according to ESPN.com, which has him ranked as the No. 2 prospect from the state of Nevada, No. 27 regionally, and No. 35 at his position nationally. The experts at 247Sports.com have him ranked as the No. 4 prospect in the state of Utah, No. 29 at his position, nationally and No. 137 overall as a three-star recruit.
Degourville has been described as, "…locked in on the defensive end with the agility and quick hands to fluster perimeter opponents and the physical frame to adequately defend in the post against bigger (opponents)." He can play the one through four, and has been very successful in all those roles, is an elite passer, so regardless of which spot on the floor he is playing, he can distribute the ball and make everyone around him better. From a physical and maturity standpoint he can play right away and can guard multiple positions on the defensive end. His basketball IQ is deemed elite, and he has been described as seeing the game one play ahead of everyone else...like a quarterback throwing a receiver open.
Degourville comes from a winning pedigree. He competes with Vegas Elite which reached the Peace Jam finals and are one of the best Nike EYBL teams in the country.
Competing for Durango High School in 2022-23, he helped to lead the team to the No. 1 ranking in Nevada, a 21-6 record, 10-1 in 5A Southern League action. Durango then garnered the Class 5A Southern League Tournament title on the way to the 5A state championships. For his efforts he was named a first-team All-Southern Nevada selection by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. As accomplished in the classroom as on the court, Degourville earned Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) All-State Academic Team distinction. As a sophomore, Durango finished ranked No. 3 in the state, went 20-6, and 9-1 in conference play.
Degourville chose San Diego State over offers from Southern California, Iowa, Oklahoma and Harvard as well as Mountain West programs Nevada and Utah State, among others.
Compton, currently a senior at Arbor View High School in Las Vegas, is a four-star prospect according to 247 Sports.com. He is ranked as the No. 1 recruit in Nevada, No. 17 nationally as a small forward and No. 80 overall. He is also the No. 1 ranked recruit in Nevada according to On3.com as well as the No. 14 small forward and No. 91 overall nationally as a four-star recruit.
Compton, a 6-8, 220-pound forward, played his first two high school seasons at Las Vegas' Spring Valley High. As a sophomore, he averaged 12.2 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.2 blocks. He spent last year at AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, Arizona, as a member of its Boys National Team program.
He is an elite athlete and possibly one of the most athletic high school players in the country. Compton is a lefty and a superior finisher around the basket. He has been compared to Aztec Billy White, also a Las Vegas native, by head men's basketball coach Brian Dutcher. He is long, with a 7-foot, 3-inch wingspan, and can dunk with the best in the country, but also finishes multiple ways around the rim, a skill that most young players do not possess. Aguek Arop is another player Compton has been likened to for the strength of his body and long arms. Defensively he can switch one to five and impacts the game by constantly working on both ends of the floor.
The Las Vegas native, is San Diego State's first top-100 signee since Jer'Vaughn Johnson, ranked No. 26 nationally, signed an NLI with the Aztecs in 2005.
Compton chose the Aztecs over offers from LSU, Iowa, Tennessee and UNLV, among others.
San Diego State plays at Brigham Young on Friday, November 10 at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT with the game being carried on ESPN+.