Brandon Thompson, an all-state guard from Stevens High in San Antonio, announced on Monday his commitment to play basketball at ASU in the fall.
With James Harden gone to the NBA, ASU coach Herb Sendek had a fifth scholarship to play around with for the upcoming season.
Thompson is a 6-foot-2-inch, 185-pound guard who averaged 17.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.1 steals per game while leading Stevens to a 31-4 record.
“I had a hard decision,” Thompson told reporters at a press conference in San Antonio on Monday. “I had to sit down and think about it ... [but] my gut decision [Monday] morning was Arizona State. I felt good about it. It’s a blessing right now; the feeling is [incomparable] right now.”
The San Antonio Express-News called Thompson the San Antonio metro player of the year.
ASU beat out Georgetown and Texas Tech for Thompson, who visited all three schools on official visits recently.
Thompson didn’t even attract much attention before the season, but he received a phone call from USC during the season and things snowballed from there. He eventually became one of the most sought after recruits in the state by season’s end, as he averaged 27.7 points per game in the playoffs.
Sendek has used the allotted 13 scholarships allowed for Division-I basketball.
Reach the reporter at alex.espinoza@asu.edu.
