By the time mid-April had rolled around, Stephen Zimmerman experienced everything the recruiting process has to offer, both good and bad. One night, he had simply had enough.
That’s why, when he chose to make his commitment to UNLV public knowledge, he tweeted out the news, and went to bed. Hardly the typical fashion in which a five-star, high-profile recruit tells the world that he’s shunning the likes of Kentucky and Arizona to play for his hometown school.
But that’s him, and he had no interest in making the decision into more a spectacle than it needed to be.
Name: Stephen Zimmerman
Height: 7’0
Position: Power Forward/Center
Ranking: Five-star, No. 11 overall
Strengths: With his height and length, Zimmerman will be a difficult match-up for defenders every night in college basketball. Not only does he have those two traits, but he uses them extremely well offensively. He’s a plus athlete, but not incredibly explosive, so he has had to learn how to gain separation using his length, and at this point, he’s effective doing it. He can knock down shots from the perimeter, while also getting to the rim off the bounce against other centers. Defensively, he’s made a good amount of progress as a rim protector since we saw him last year.
Areas to Improve: Zimmerman is still developing his frame, and he’ll need to continue doing that to make it through the rigors of a college season–and certainly, the NBA seasons that he envisions himself having. Working on foot speed will also be a big determining factor on how much he can swing between center and power forward.
