:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65704588/157D22EB_9B25_4138_AADE_E50DA22C133F.0.jpeg)
Yesterday marked the early signing day around the college basketball world and while the Iowa Hawkeyes only announced one official signing, they did indeed receive signatures from all five commits in the class of 2020. In case you’d forgotten, the class did grow to five with the addition of British big man and Worcester Academy (MA) product Josh Ogundele.
For whatever reason, the Hawkeyes didn’t make formal announcements for any signatures other than Tony Perkins, who they announced not long after we received the Ogundele news.
Today, the official Iowa hoops Twitter account broke its silence to formalize what we knew had happened: signatures from the whole class. One of those came from Chicago PG Ahron Ulis.
Chicago ➡ Iowa City
— Iowa Basketball (@IowaHoops) November 14, 2019
Welcome to the Hawkeye family, @Lil_Ulis3! pic.twitter.com/9KPNhVMuZA
Ulis, as you’ll recall, was Iowa’s first commit back in August of this year and is the younger brother of one of Fran’s biggest recruiting targets during his tenure at Iowa: Tyler Ulis.
The younger Ulis is taller than Tyler, standing at 6’2”. While he doesn’t have the same cat-quick abilities with the ball in his hand, Ahron is a very good outside shooter and is no slouch when it comes to getting into the paint. He’s very good at using his length to rise up and finish through contact at the hoop.
As we’ve seen early this season, having guards who can create for themselves and for teammates off the dribble is a major benefit. Iowa has one of those in freshman Joe Toussaint, though it remains to be seen whether his talents can be harnessed in a way that moves the offense forward. The quickness will also be a benefit on the defensive side of the court where Fran’s teams have struggled the most. Adding an on-ball defender capable of stopping his man off the dribble may be the biggest need right now.
Overall, Ulis is rated as a 3-star by both Rivals and 247 Sports. He’s ranked just outside the top 200 nationally and around 40th at his position. He chose Iowa over offers from DePaul, New Mexico, Siena, NIU, SIU, Toledo and a handful of other low majors.