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Arizona State lands junior college forward Willie Atwood

Herb Sendek

Arizona State has been awfully busy on the junior college recruiting trail recently, with three of their six newcomers coming from that level of basketball. The number of newcomers rose to seven Thursday afternoon, as Connors State (Okla.) JC forward Willie Atwood announced his decision to join the Arizona State program.

Atwood, a 6-foot-8 forward who was also considering Florida State and Iowa, is one of the top junior college players in the country according to multiple recruiting services. As a sophomore at Connors State, Atwood averaged 20.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Atwood shot 57.6% from the field and 77.4% from the foul line.

His best offensive performance came on November 13 in a 90-87 loss to Independence CC, in which he scored 48 points with 33 of those points coming from the foul line (in 37 attempts). Atwood reached double figures in all 30 of the games he played in (12 double-doubles), and of his 12 double-digit rebounding efforts there was a 20-rebound performance in a win over Seminole State College in mid-January.

With Jahii Carson, Jordan Bachynski and Jermaine Marshall all having moved on, there will be plenty of opportunities for Atwood and the six other newcomers to earn immediate playing time next season. Shaquielle McKissic, who was granted a sixth season of eligibility last week, is Arizona State’s most productive returnee with guard Bo Barnes and forward Jonathan Gilling also being members of the rotation that reached the NCAA tournament in 2013-14.

Atwood joins Savon Goodman and Connor MacDougall as Arizona State’s front court additions, with junior college transfers Gerry Blakes and Roosevelt Scott and incoming freshmen Tra Holder and Kodi Justice on the perimeter.

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