Tshimanga Calls it for Nebraska

New England Recruiting Report | Monday, May 16th, 2016

Jordy Tshimanga, one of the best available players in New England’s class of 2016, announced his commitment to Nebraska on Monday morning at a ceremony at the MacDuffie School.

Tshimanga chose Nebraska over UNLV and Minnesota although he had also pulled in offers from the likes of Arizona, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State and many others during the course of the last year.

Nebraska assistant coach Kenya Hunter and head coach Tim Miles were both credited for developing a relationship with Tshimanga that is rooted almost three years ago now, when Tshimanga first arrived in the New England prep ranks.

"Nebraska fans should understand that Jordy is an unbelievable person who is of the highest character," MacDuffie head coach Jacques Rivera said. "From an athletic standpoint, I think Jordy made a great pick in the league he's going to because he's a prototypical Big Ten big who doesn't mind banging and doing the majority of his work inside and his best days athletically are ahead of him."

A true center who measured at 6-foot-11 and 265 pounds with a 7-foot-5 wingspan, Tshimanga fills a big void in the middle of Nebraska’s line-up next year and will consequently have an opportunity to earn immediate playing time.

While his size and deceptive length are amongst his most obvious assets he also has good hands inside, the frame to absorb contact and a soft touch around the rim. Tshimanga’s conditioning has also dramatically improved in recent years as he once weighed as much as 330 pounds but is now better able to keep up with the pace of a high level game.

He projects as a player who will be able to give the Huskers a consistent anchor in the post. He’s well versed in high-low basketball and should be a legitimite scoring option in the post when he’s able to get deep enough positioning on the catch. Defensively, he’s a space eater who can clog the lane and bang with opposing big men but will need to continue to work on his mobility to be able to guard ball-screens away from the basket.

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