Travis Ford continues Saint Louis recruiting success by landing Carte’Are Gordon

Travis Ford and Saint Louis got a verbal commitment from Class of 2018 four-star forward Carte’Are Gordon on Wednesday.

The St. Louis native had named SLU a finalist late Tuesday night, along with Mizzou and Kansas. He’s the second highly-regarded local prospect to join the Billikens since Ford’s arrival, after four-star Class of 2017 shooting guard Jordan Goodwin committed to the program in August.

Gordon is a powerful, big-bodied forward that is a consensus top-40 prospect in his class across ESPN (#9), Rivals (#16) and 247sports (#34).

He’ll join a Billikens team that figures to be flush with talent. In addition to Goodwin, Ford recently got a commitment from talented 2017 forward Hasahn French, who was also considering UMass and Minnesota. Transfers Javon Bess (Michigan State), D.J. Foreman (Rutgers) and Adonys Henriquez (Central Florida) will all be eligible next season as well.

Roughly seven months into the job, Ford has seemingly established a stranglehold on St. Louis area talent.

Beating Bill Self - which Ford had to do to land Marcus Smart at Oklahoma State - is no small feat. Goodwin and Carter were also both considering Mizzou, and while the Tigers have struggled to land St. Louis prospects in recent years, Ford has already set a precedent for beating the state’s lone power five program.

This upcoming season may be a struggle for the Billikens on-the-court, but Ford has given plenty of reasons for SLU fans to be optimistic about the future.