ASU men's basketball landed its first commitment of the class of 2016 under new coach Bobby Hurley Wednesday after guard Sam Cunliffe reportedly committed to the Sun Devils.
I have officially committed to Arizona state #forksup ☀️☀️
— Sam I Am (@SamC206) June 10, 2015
Bobby Hurley lands his first 2016 commit. https://t.co/ePcJioJARI
— State Press Sports (@statepresssport) June 10, 2015
2016 wing Sam Cuncliffe has committed to Arizona State, source told @CBSSports.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 10, 2015
First high school commitment of the Bobby Hurley era is a four-star Top-100 versatile 6-6 backcourt player. That's a very good start.
— SunDevilSource.com (@SunDevilSource) June 10, 2015
The Sun Devils add their first Hurley commitment for the class of 2016 in Cunliffe (three-star Rivals, four-star Scout), a 6-foot-6, 188-pound guard from Seattle, Wash.
Cunliffe was recently moved into Scout's top 100 players nationally for the class of 2016 (No. 97 overall) and named as the No. 21 small forward prospect for his class.
Cunliffe told Evan Daniels of Scout that the opportunity to be an impact player right away for ASU would be a big draw.
"They said I was one of their top priorities as a guard," Cunliffe told Daniels. "He didn't want to guarantee me anything but they plan on me having a big impact on the team. I felt it was a place I could go and contribute right away on a national stage. All around it was a really good fit."
According to Scout, Cunliffe was also considering UNLV, Colorado, Cal, Gonzaga, Utah, Washington, Washington State and other schools.
Cunliffe told Hod Rabino of Rivals he could not pass up the chance to launch a new national contender with Hurley, saying he thinks the former Duke point guard will "take Arizona State to the top."
"It really was Coach Hurley at the end of the day," Cunliffe told Rabino. "Being around him and his staff, seeing who I would be learning from and what I want to do…it's an amazing opportunity. To be one of the first guys to start off his program it was a special opportunity as well."
Here are some of Cunliffe's highlights, via Courtside Films:
Cunliffe told Rivals that he plans to officially sign with ASU during the November signing period.
Reach the reporter at fardaya@asu.edu or follow @fardaya15 on Twitter.
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