6-foot-11 center gives verbal commitment

At first glance, 6-foot-11, 205-pound center Peter Jurkin might look like an all-too-familiar sight to Hoosier fans — and one they didn’t want to see again.

Fans are done with the “projects” and with players like Bawa Muniru and Tijan Jobe. And while Jobe was a fan favorite, he didn’t produce the necessary numbers on the court.

Though the three all play the center position and are all from Africa, the associations stop there — Jurkin’s no Tijan.

“There’s no comparison,” said Mark Adams, Jurkin’s Indiana Elite AAU coach said. “Tijan and Bawa had magnificent bodies. But Peter is at another level, and he still has two years of high school basketball left to be played.”

Jurkin has been ranked as the 16th overall player in the 2012 recruiting class by ESPN but is unranked by several other prominent recruiting bases.

However, even without high rankings from Rivals.com or Scout.com, his play grabbed the attention of several coaches around the country.  Jurkin had offers from Clemson, IU and South Carolina and had interest from Memphis, North Carolina, NC State, Tennessee and Texas.

His early commitment allows him to focus on several things he wants to improve on before he arrives in Bloomington for college, particularly bulking up. One of the biggest knocks Jurkin’s critics have is his current thin physique.

Jurkin mentioned building muscle as one of the things that he planned to work on, but the busy summer circuit has kept him from truly devoting his time.

“I’ve had too many games, too many practices (to focus on strength),” Jurkin said. “But this year I’m going to try and be in the weight program and try and (get) big.”

Jurkin also said he planned on improving his offense in his two remaining years of high school. His early commitment will allow him to devote his time purely to academics and basketball, rather than focusing on visits and offers.

“I (decided) early because I wanted to be focused on school and basketball — try to not think about what college (I’m) going to,” he said.

But why IU? With offers and attention from schools with already-established programs — and not in the rebuilding mode — such as North Carolina and Texas, his decision to come to Indiana was based more on court time.

“I’ve talked to Coach, and he thinks that I can come in and play right away and maybe start,” Jurkin told Rivals.com. “I also like the Big Ten. It’s a good conference. I think I’ll have a good coach.”

His decision to come to IU, a school with a heavy tradition of quality basketball, might just be the first domino for the Hoosiers, with several 2011 players still undecided — including forward Cody Zeller.

Zeller also plays for Indiana Elite and has IU in his final three schools. Having a big man like Jurkin might help tilt his decision toward the cream and crimson.

If a dominant player like Zeller would commit, it would mean more than just an additional player: Jurkin’s game is stronger when he is surrounded by high-quality players and players with height, said Shaun Wiseman, his coach at United Faith Christian Academy.

“Peter plays better when there are other big kids out on the floor,” Wiseman said. “That is why Peter is going to be a good college player.”

Adams agreed that IU is gaining a valuable player.

“Anyone that watched the games at Adidas Nations would know what IU is getting,” Adams said. “I thought he played as good as any big man defensively against the best competition in his age group from around the world.

“I think IU has gotten one of the best centers in the country in the 2012 class. I think it’s an excellent start to their 2012
 recruiting class.”