After much speculation, Jairus Hamilton has officially announced his commitment to Boston College on Thursday evening!

A 6’8” forward out of Concord, NC, Hamilton is currently ranked as the 55th best recruit in the 2018 class by ESPN, 63rd by 247, and 81st by Rivals. His final three schools were Boston College, Maryland, and Mississippi State, although he also had offers from Duke, UNC, Villanova, Florida, and Florida State, among many others.

In addition, Jairus Hamilton will be joined at BC by his brother, Jared Hamilton! Jared will enroll at Boston College this semester after transferring from Georgia Southern and will be eligible to play starting next January with two seasons of eligibility remaining. In 38 total collegiate games playing for both Jacksonville State and Georgia Southern, the 6'4" Jared Hamilton averaged 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds on 42% shooting from the field and 20% shooting from deep.

You can check out some of Jairus' highlights below, but to put it simply, Jairus has the potential to be a program-altering recruit.

Evaluating Jairus as a prospect, there is nothing not to like. High motor, high IQ, confidence, and most importantly, skills. Standing 6'8" but with guard skills, Hamilton is the type of player who can get the rebound on one end and push the ball immediately.

With elite athleticism and solid rebounding instincts for his size, adding a player like Jairus should immediately revitalize a BC team that struggles defending in the frontcourt in ACC play. Hamilton is the type of player you can trust to guard positions 2-4, making him a perfect complement to any other wing players BC may bring in over the coming years. Moving forward, pairing Hamilton with a player like Steffon Mitchell would give the Eagles legitimate size and toughness in the frontcourt--a big weakness in years past.

Hamilton is the type of athlete you can expect to come in and play big minutes right away. He is a bruiser on the boards, can handle the ball, and attack the basket. His biggest weakness before this season had been shooting, but he seems to have improved mightily from beyond the arc during his senior year. That being said, when Hamilton gets the ball in his hands, his relentless ability to attack the basket and his high basketball IQ would lead to plenty of open shots for teammates, making him the perfect offensive complement to any pure shooters BC would bring in down the line.

Hamilton most recently had an extremely impressive showing at the Chik-Fil-A Classic in Columbia, SC, where he averaged 27 points a game and was named to the All-Tournament Team. After the tournament, scouts from Phenom Hoop Report had this to say:

“Gifted with a physically mature frame, we’re talking about a skilled forward that has a unique blend of strength, athleticism, and skill. That being said, Hamilton showcased his overall talent against one of the most talented teams in the country, Oak Hill Academy. While Cannon came up on the losing end, Hamilton illustrated why he is such an intriguing and talented prospect. Hamilton poured in game-high 32 points going 10-18 from the floor including 4-7 from the 3-point line, not to mention 8-12 from the free throw line. Hamilton collected 5 rebounds, dished out 2 assist, and has 2 steals. These are big-time statistics, but doing this against a team like Oak Hill speaks volume.”

But most importantly, Hamilton seems like a very intelligent, high basketball-IQ player, and it’s clear he is the type of guy any coach would want to build their team around. You can watch an interview with Hamilton after he played Oak Hill as a junior.

Obviously, landing a recruit of this caliber is basically unheard of for Boston College, but Hamilton's commitment may signal that major recruits are taking note of the development that players like Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman have undergone at BC.

Like Robinson and Bowman, Jairus is also from North Carolina and it seems that BC is building a solid recruiting pipeline into the state. The difference, however, is that Robinson and Bowman weren't receiving major interest from other ACC schools, while Hamilton was receiving interest from Duke, UNC, and NC State.

For a player like Hamilton to choose Boston College over other ACC schools is a huge win for BC and shows what recruits nationwide may think of Coach Christian and staff.

Hamilton will join a 2018 recruiting class that already featured Maryland combo-guard Wynston Tabbs, who is ranked 135th in the 2018 class by Rivals.

With Tabbs and Hamilton coming into the fold, the 2018-2019 BC team could have the most talented roster in a long time.