Montverde (Fla.) Academy center Ruslan Pateev has committed to the Arizona State men’s basketball team.
Pateev is a 6-foot-11, 235-pounder from Russia who’s considered a skilled, multi-faceted big man. A three-star prospect according to Rivals.com, Pateev averaged 10 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks as a junior at Montverde. He was also considering North Carolina State, Florida State and Southern Methodist.
According to Montverde coach Kevin Sutton, Pateev announced the signing at the academy on Wednesday afternoon.
Pateev and Trent Lockett currently highlight the Sun Devils’ 2009 class, which will lose current senior Jeff Pendergraph to graduation and possibly sophomore guard James Harden, who could opt for the NBA.
Meanwhile, Jared Cunningham, who was expected to be part of ASU’s 2009 recruiting class, will not attend the university.
With his academic eligibility in question for the upcoming semester, a mutual decision was reached this week between the school and Cunningham’s family that Jared should go in a different direction. Specifics of his next move are not immediately known.
The 6-foot-3, 170-pound Cunningham from San Leandro (Calif.) made a verbal commitment last October and was among the top 20 high school senior point guard prospects in the country.
