Creighton’s recruiting momentum continued, as they secured a commitment from four-star 2018 forward Ian Steere on Thursday. A 6’9″, 230-pound player from Wesleyan Christian Academy in High Point, North Carolina, Steere is ranked as high as #76 by recruiting services (Scout), and is a four-star prospect in rankings by Scout, ESPN, and 247. He held offers from Louisville, Kansas, Arkansas, Clemson, UCONN, Florida State, and others.
https://twitter.com/iansteere25/status/883105868878925828
The powerful Steere plays on the same AAU team, Team Charlotte, as incoming freshman Ty-Shon Alexander. Entering his senior year in high school, Steere is already an intimidating presence around the basket, plays above the rim, and is big enough to play on day one in the Big East — there’s no concern about a need to add weight to play as a freshman with Steere. He’s there already, which is a strange feeling for Bluejay fans used to big men who need a year of conditioning to be ready for action (Gregory Echenique excepted). Here’s some clips of Steere in action — his sheer aggression and fearlessness around the rim makes him hard to compare to previous Bluejays, at least of recent vintage.
https://twitter.com/sinow/status/883159939044311041
https://twitter.com/iansteere25/status/879793643271356416
According to Rivals’ Corey Evans, Alexander helped sell Steere on Creighton by convincing him that Greg McDermott and his staff are among the best in the country.
Steele told Rivals that when he talked to McDermott on his visit, he liked that Creighton wanted to make him a priority, and laid out a plan for how his game would evolve as a Bluejay. That plan? For Steere to be a 3/4 combo big man who would play both on the block and outside, running offense both in the paint and on iso sets.
With fellow four-star recruit Christian Bishop already on board for 2018, Steere’s commitment gives the Bluejays a great start to that class and allows CU’s staff to now focus on their top guard targets with two big men committed.
Here’s a sampling of the reaction around social media following the announcement:
https://twitter.com/barstooljays/status/883117781817978881
https://twitter.com/trendsomaha/status/883129404196630529
