Aaron Bond Picks A School

Aaron Bond, a sweet-shooting 6-8, 200 pound small/combination forward from Snow J.C. in Ephraim, Ut., has committed to Northern Arizona.

Bond kind of disappeared off the basketball radar screen after walking on and red-shirting at BYU as a freshman in 1997-98. He then went on a two-year LDS mission, returning to competitive basketball last year at Eastfield J.C. in Texas.

At Eastfield last season, Bond put up impressive numbers, but gained little in the way of national recognition at the Division III JUCO in Mesquite, Tex.

However, many people took notice of Bond this past summer at Jerry Mullen's JUCO Showcase in Tulsa, Okla.

A tremendous shooter with range out to three point land, Bond is a crafty finisher around the basket (though he severely lacks in upper body strength) and an adroit passer. He can also put the ball on the floor decent enough to get to the basket.

Bond took fall trips to Washington State (Sept. 7-9) and Northern Arizona (Oct. 5-7) before casting his lot with the Lumberjacks. He had also drawn interest from Tulsa, Texas Tech, Brigham Young and Columbia.

Bond actually took an unofficial visit to Tulsa after the Mullen camp this summer, and a year ago, was hotly pursued by Drake University in Iowa. He could have left junior college last year, but opted to return and transfer to Snow.

"There were many reasons that I picked Northern Arizona," Bond said. "They have a good chance of going to the tournament every year if they win their conference. When I went up there, I really liked the school, the campus and everything."

Bond's decision went beyond basketball.

"I am going to major in construction management, and they have a good program up there in that," he said. "Academically, it's place that can help me out a lot, and basketball, it's a place where I can go and play right away and they have good facilities. I got along really well with the players and coaches there, and I felt like I was at home when I went up there."

Bond will form one of the better front lines in junior college basketball this winter, playing alongside 6-11 Iowa State commitment Jackson Vroman. What Vroman will give the Badgers in the paint, Bond will be able to complement nicely from the wing with his perimeter skills.

It was a major part of his game that the NAU staff liked.

"Their motto is recruit to shoot," Bond said. "That's one of the things I like to do. I am not just a straight up inside player. I like to step out and shoot the three a lot, and that's kind of Northern Arizona's style. They run a lot, and I like to get up and down the court, so they fit my style a lot."