Miami lands big man Izundu

One of the top remaining players in the class of 2015 came off the board on Wednesday when three-star power forward Ebuka Izundu picked Miami.

A slender 6-foot-9 four-man at Charlotte (N.C.) Victory Christian, who had initially signed with Charlotte, Izundu became available when he received his release from Charlotte after coach Alan Major left the program.

Though he has loads of potential as a basketball player, Izundu's high school coach, Auriece McClain, told Rivals.com that the decision was more about academics. The way Miami was similar to Victory Christian played a huge role.

"They have smaller classrooms that are like a 12- or 13-to-one ratio and he comes from a small private school, and that's the type of attention that he needs," said McClain. "Also, everybody hears about Miami and thinks that Miami is in South Beach and it's a party. But, it's in Coral Gables on the outskirts and it's a nice, small private school.

"We were able to sit down with the school president on the visit and talk about the school. Everything we talked about was about school and life, and not once did she mention basketball and that stood out to Ebuka."

Academics may have swayed things in the favor of the Hurricanes, but basketball is certainly a big part of the equation. Izundu isn't just some leftover player. He was initially in the class of 2016 where he was a member of the Rivals150 because of his length, athleticism, shot blocking and ability to step out and make some jump shots.

That Miami could see him facing the hoop and didn't just want to bulk him up to grind near the rim was big.

"He's going to be good there," said McClain. "The thing about Coach Jim Larranaga is that he's going to be playing Ebuka to his skill set. He's going to allow him to step out and shoot mid-range jump shots. He's not going to try and put 30 or 40 pounds on him and make him be a pound-it-on-the-inside type of player."

Izundu is the second member of Miami's 2015 recruiting class. He joins three-star combo forward Anthony Lawrence, who signed during the early signing period.