Lee Academy forward Pac-12 bound

Tuesday, January 19th, 2016

Lee Academy forward Vitaliy Shibel made a verbal commitment to Arizona State this weekend following an official visit.

A native of the Ukraine, Shibel arrived at Lee this year and earned an offer from the Sun Devils almost immediately after assistant coach Rashon Burno visited the school in the first week of the recruiting period.

Former Rhode Island assistant coach Bobby Hurley is in his first season at the helm of the Arizona State program following a successful stint at Buffalo.

A 6-foot-9 forward, Shibel projects as a face-up four-man at the next level and potentially a mismatch-four down the road as he continues to get stronger and adjust to the physicality of the American game.

While the southpaw has a soft touch over his right shoulder with his back to the basket, his best assets at the moment are his ability to run the floor, finish above the rim and stretch opposing defenses out to the three-point line.

Shibel joins Marcel Kliniewski (Seattle) and Nedeljko Prijovic (Texas State) to become the third member of Lee’s 2016 class to commit to a division I school.

Below are some highlights of Shibel prior to his arrival at Lee.