ASU Basketball bolsters size with new commit

The first year that Bobby Hurley will coach at ASU won't see him blessed with great depth at the forward positions, with 6'10" senior Eric Jacobsen and 6'9" freshman Andre Adams representing the Sun Devils' top options down low.

With Tuesday's commitment of Jethro Tshisumpa to the Sun Devils, Hurley adds a piece that will hold down the paint on both ends of the court. Tshisumpa, a 6'9", 255 pound native of Congo who is playing his high school ball at Mountain Mission School in Virginia, provides one of the top shot blocking talents in the Class of 2016 and his pledge to ASU will provide Hurley with a stout defensive presence.

Tshisumpa's ranked in Scout's Top 100 for Class of 2016 players, due in part to the impressive performances he strung together at the NBA Players Association Camp and the Adidas Summer Championships, leading both tournaments in blocked shots per game. He visited ASU in June and the Sun Devils were the forward's first high-major school to offer him a scholarship. A month later, he committed, picking ASU over West Virginia, SMU and others in a recruiting race that would've likely seen more big name schools throw their name in the hats for if Tshisumpa hadn't made his decision so soon.

The addition of Tshisumpa to Hurley's list of 2016 commits might become even more important if Hurley's white whale, five-star center Thon Maker, ends up not choosing the Sun Devils. Maker's considering ASU as well as schools of high basketball prowess such as Kansas and Indiana, although reports have been made that Maker is interested in being the driving force behind a program's ascension to prominence rather than be just another great player to play for those tradition-rich programs.