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Stephen Zimmerman Commits to UNLV

By Chris Godfrey

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Stephen Zimmerman, a consensus All-American and the nation’s best prep seven-footer, has decided to stay home and play his college basketball at UNLV.

Zimmerman, who starred alongside fellow All-American Chase Jeter at local Vegas powerhouse Bishop Gorman, made the decision minutes ago via his Twitter account.

Landing Zimmerman is a huge get for the Runnin’ Rebels, especially considering the uncharacteristically down season the team had on the court this year. Zimmerman had offers from all of college basketball’s “blue bloods” and was being targeted heavily by the Kentucky Wildcats as they try to rebuild their roster. UNLV was always an option for Zimmerman, but the commitment of such a highly rated prospect to a Mountain West team still registers as a believe it when we see it type moment.

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Well, hear we are. As some college basketball fans are going to sleep on the east coast, fans on the Vegas strip may be gearing up for a long night. Zimmerman will join a frontcourt that will return Christian Wood, who averaged a double-double last year as a sophomore. One of last year’s prized freshmen commits, Goodluck Okonoboh, will also return to give UNLV the country’s best trio of big men going into next season.

Unfortunately, freshman sensation Rashad Vaughn has already signed with an agent and entered the NBA Draft. Adding Vaughn to this group would have potentially made the Rebels a top 15 team.

Head coach Dave Rice has continuously worked magic by convincing high-level recruits to play their college ball on Vegas, but this is by far his biggest coup. With Zimmerman in tow, UNLV is almost certainly a favorite to win the Mountain West, and anything less than a return to the NCAA Tournament would be considered an epic disappointment.

Rice will have to work fast to integrate Zimmerman and figure out a rotation for his three talented bigs. Some experimentation with playing Okonoboh at small forward may even be in order. The sense of urgency will be imperative, considering it is very possible that Zimmerman’s “stay at home” could end up lasting only one season before he bolts for the NBA.

UPDATE:

Apparently we shouldn’t have been surprised by Zimmerman’s nonchalant announcement. He apparently hinted that he would tweet his decision while speaking to reporters during his availability at the Jordan Brand Classic practices earlier this week.

I really like how Zimmerman handled this. His stepmother had recently told reporters that he was growing tired of the recruiting process, and the timing of his decision seems to support that sentiment.

Next: Predicting Destinations of Unsigned Prospects

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