San Diego State hauls in five-star commitment

THE LIST: Class of 2014 Rivals150

To say the least, the last nine months or so have been a little bit stressful for five-star forward Malik Pope. Late Wednesday night, though, he was able to celebrate some positive news.

After having his junior season end early with a broken leg, the 6-foot-8 small forward at Elk Grove (Calif.) Laguna Creek was cleared to play a few weeks ago. Shortly after his clearance, Pope broke the same leg a second time in a layup line while warming up to play.

Still recovering from a second surgery, the No. 17 player in the class of 2014 confirmed late Wednesday that he has committed to San Diego State.

Obviously, Pope still has to get healthy and make a full return. But, there is no discounting the significance of his commitment because Pope is an extreme talent.

Prior to his injury, Pope ranked in the national top 10 and he looked like he belonged there. He has excellent size for his position, is an above average athlete and has outstanding ball skills and range on his jumper.

Unfortunately for Pope, his injury caused him to miss the important summer evaluation period and he didn't get a chance to prove himself as a top ten player.

Either way, the addition of Pope is a significant one for the Aztecs as they continue to be a formidable foe on the recruiting trail. The Aztecs have proven that they can lure five-stars, high end four-stars and other Rivals150 players to San Diego and Pope is the sixth Rivals150 player to pick the Aztecs since Kawhi Leonard in 2009.

In the class of 2014, Pope joins Rivals150 guard Trey Kell and former Rivals150 guard Kevin Zabo. Kell is nearing four-star status while Zabo is trying to fight his way back into the rankings.

Eric Bossi is the national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.

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