Steve Prohm has found the long-term successor to Monte Morris and Donovan Jackson in the Cyclone back court as Darius McNeill committed to Iowa State today after his official visit last weekend. He joins KeyShawn Feazell and Terrence Lewis in Iowa State’s 2017 class.
Hard work pays off ‼️ #Gocyclones pic.twitter.com/8C9PQGHmyT
— Darius McNeill (@Dboogie_1) September 5, 2016
Iowa State has picked up a commitment from Houston (TX) combo guard Darius McNeill following his weekend visit. pic.twitter.com/GTDNW7Znru
— Alex Halsted (@AlexHalsted) September 5, 2016
McNeill is a 6’2”, left-handed point guard out of Houston. His recruitment really picked up after Iowa State offered in June. Ranked as the 118th best prospect by Hoopseen.com, McNeill is an explosive point guard with the ability to get in the paint, distribute, and finish in traffic.
6'2 Darius McNeill (2017/PG) @Dboogie_1 @txboysathletic #takemytalent pic.twitter.com/MyGoOMnaXS
— TakeMyTalent.com (@TakeMyTalent) June 28, 2016
Transitioning to McNeill should be fairly seamless for the Cyclones as McNeill shares a lot of the same characteristics as Monte Morris possessed early in his career. After Morris’ graduation, we should see Jackson move to the starting point guard role and he could very well slip over to the off-guard spot when McNeill comes in. This would allow Jackson to take over the scoring load while Darius manages the offense. Eerily similar to what we saw with the Deandre Kane/Monte Morris duo.
The offense going forward is setting up to be built around pace and space, as we’ve become accustomed to. From the looks of the class thus far, Prohm is surrounding McNeill with capable shooters which will give Darius plenty of space in which to operate. Additionally, McNeill possesses the size and length that would allow him to play and defend the off-guard spot as well, which fits the theme of positional flexibility that we’ve seen so far with the three pieces of the 2017 class.
McNeill’s commitment bumps the Iowa State class from 20th to 17th on 247 Sports’ class calculator. Three scholarships still need to be filled for the 2017 class with potentially one more coming from the high school ranks. Power Forward Fabian White and combo guard Elijah Joiner are scheduled to visit the weekend of September 30th and point guard Lindell Wigginton on the weekend of September 23rd, although I’d be surprised if he doesn’t commit to Oregon before that visit takes place.