Eyman pops for UTEP after in-home visit
Los Alamitos High power forward Jacob Eyman, one of the best defensive big men in all of Southern California, committed to UTEP Saturday night after an in-home visit with Miners head coach Tim Floyd.
Eyman picked UTEP over Grand Canyon, Eastern Washington, Long Beach State, Hawaii and Nevada. He will take his official visit to El Paso this coming weekend.
“I committed, first and foremost, to get an education and pursue my basketball career in a place where I know I’ll be able to succeed,” Eyman told Prep Hoops So-Cal. “I feel confident about the outlook of the program over the next four years.”
The 6-foot-8, 210-pound senior averaged 13.9 points, 10 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game as a junior, leading his high school team to a 22-7 overall record, a Sunset League championship, while earning Co-MVP league honors.
2018 Los Alamitos power forward Jacob Eyman committed to UTEP Saturday night.Eyman, who spent time this past summer honing his craft on the club circuit with Dream Vision, the Las Vegas Prospects and California Stars, thinks his interior offensive skill set and defensive versatility fits in well with what UTEP preaches as a program.
“I think I fit in well at UTEP because of the style of offense they run,” he said. “They get up and down, but are also able to set up in a half court offense that really utilizes their bigs.”
While Eyman’s defensive abilities – shot blocking, rebounding the defensive glass, and showing and recovering in pick-and-roll situations – his offense is where he needs fine tuning, and he’s aware of what he needs to work on to be a successful offensive player at the next level.
“I think the main skills I need to work on are my ball handling and my shooting,” Eyman said. “I’ll need to tighten those up to become a more versatile and dominant player at the next level.”
Eyman’s biggest strengths right now are his length, athleticism and ability to time and stay vertical on his shot contests.
Offensively, he’s most effective in screen-roll action or when flashing to the high post or short corner where he can operate 15-feet and in for strong finishes at the basket.