Nebraskas newest commit will reclassify
THE LIST: Class of 2014 Rivals150
More and more, programs are going the international route to find talent. Monday morning, Nebraska scored with an Australian who recently made his way to the United States when Keanu Pinder pulled the trigger for the Huskers.
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A 6-foot-8 combo forward who is now playing his high school ball at Bel Aire (Kan.) Sunrise Christian, Pinder has been a member of Australia's junior national team and also made waves in August at Adidas Nations in Los Angeles.
Nebraska and Tim Miles are plugged into Australia because of assistant coach Chris Harriman, who is a native of Sydney. He helped land players from Australia and New Zealand during his previous coaching stop at St. Louis and is continuing the trend in Lincoln.
After helping to land point guard Tai Webster out of New Zealand last year, Harriman played a big role in landing Pinder.
"Keanu and coach Harriman obviously had a connection," Sunrise coach Kyle Lindsted told Rivals.com. "I believe Harriman played with Tiny Pinder, Keanu's father.
"He just felt comfortable with that familiarity and he loved what he saw on his unofficial visit."
Currently rated as a three-star prospect, Pinder was initially slated to be a member of the class of 2014. However, he will likely need to take a post-grad year and he makes his commitment as a class of 2015 recruit.
Athletic, lengthy and quick, Pinder is an active rebounder and defender. He fills lanes in transition, is very active around the rim and is a pretty good spot-up jump shooter when he is properly set.
The biggest need for Pinder going forward is to add more strength. He has a lean frame, but Sunrise pushes its athletes in the weight room as hard as any high school program in the country, so the extra year to prepare for Big Ten hoops should be beneficial.
Eric Bossi is the national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.
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