April 20, 2015
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV men's basketball program received a signed financial aid agreement from Stephen Zimmerman on Monday, head coach Dave Rice has announced. Zimmerman plans to enroll at UNLV this summer.
A 7-foot, 241-pound center from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, he will be a freshman this fall.
ESPN ranks Zimmerman as the 10th-best player in the class of 2015 and he was honored this year by being named a McDonald's High School All-American. He played in the McDonald's All-American game in Chicago earlier this month as well as the Jordan Brand Classic in Brooklyn.
A five-star recruit, Zimmerman is the third McDonald's All-American to choose UNLV out of high school in the last four years under Rice. The others were Anthony Bennett and Rashad Vaughn.
Over his four-year career at Bishop Gorman, Zimmerman was part of 114 victories making him the winningest player in school history. He also led the school to four straight state titles, becoming the only player in Nevada history to do so at the large-school level.
"We are excited to have Stephen join our program," Rice said. "He is a highly skilled big that has the versatility to make plays from all over the court. He is a winner that led Bishop Gorman to an impressive four straight state championships. Stephen is a great passer and rebounder and will have an immediate impact on our team."
As a senior at Bishop Gorman, he averaged 14.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. He appeared in all 33 of the team's games, shooting 55 percent from the field overall and 59 percent on two-point attempts. Bishop Gorman finished this season with a 27-6 overall record and ranked No. 22 in the country.
He was also a member of last summer's USA Basketball U18 National Team, which won gold at the FIBA Americas U18 Championships where he was the team's leading rebounder, and two weeks ago he played for the American team at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland.
He joins Derrick Jones, a 6-foot-7-inch small forward from Radnor, Pa., and Jalen Poyser, a 6-foot-4-inch point guard from Toronto, Canada, who will also be freshmen this fall, as part of UNLV's 2015 recruiting class. Jones is ranked as the 27th-best player in the class of 2015 and was named the Best Dunker in the country in his class by ESPN. Poyser is the No. 1-ranked player in Canada in the class of 2015.
In addition to the young core of returning players from the 2014-15 season, the Runnin' Rebels are looking forward to redshirts Ben Carter, a 6-8 junior forward from Las Vegas (transfer from Oregon), and Jerome Seagears, a 6-1 senior point guard from Silver Spring, Md. (transfer from Rutgers), eligible to play for UNLV in 2015-16.
