Memphis invades Big East country to land Kuran Iverson, Allen Iverson’s highly touted cousin
The most significant aspect of Kuran Iverson's decision to attend Memphis on Tuesday isn't that he's the Tigers' fourth elite commitment for the class of 2013 or even that he's former NBA all-star Allen Iverson's cousin.
What matters most is where he's from.
Iverson is a native of Hartford, Conn., not exactly a traditional recruiting hotbed for a program like Memphis. Now that the Tigers are a year away from making their Big East debut, however, it has enabled coach Josh Pastner to recruit the Northeast in a way he couldn't before.
Landing Iverson is a coup for Memphis even though his game hardly resembles his famous cousin's.
Iverson is a gifted 6-foot-8 forward who creates matchup problems for opponents with his ability to handle the ball on the perimeter and make plays for his teammates. He has yo-yoed up and down recruiting rankings, starting as a top 10 prospect because of his talent, plummeting when analysts questioned his effort and attitude and now rising again back to No. 24 in the Rivals 150 after an improved performance this past summer.
Memphis out-dueled the likes of Florida and Connecticut to land Iverson, who will spend his final year of high school at Fishburne Military Academy (Va.). Iverson joins three other top 100 prospects in the Tigers' Class of 2013: Nick King (No. 37), Markel Crawford (No. 50) and Rashawn Powell (No. 98).
There's no question Memphis will have plenty of talent when it joins the Big East next fall. And while the Tigers' recruiting hotbed will remain the city of Memphis, it looks like they'll be able to raid Big East country for players once in a while too.
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