BEVERLY HILLS (MI) -- This is the third in a series wherein "FTS" will look at the five new players who will don the Red and Blue for the first time on November 9th at the newly renovated UD Arena. You can find the profile on Ibi Watson here:
http://www.udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33353
Click here for the column on Chase Johnson:
http://www.udpride.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33373
This time we will take a look at big man Jordy Tshimanga. If Bucky is reading this, it is pronounced "Sha-mun-ga" altho 'The Legend' will probably just refer to him as Jordy or the big fella.
Jordy originally hails from Montreal, QC and attended MacDuffie School in Granby, MA. Tshimanga transferred here from the University of Nebraska and will have two years of eligibility remaining.
According to his Wiki page, Tshimanga was a 6'11" 268 pound four-star selection by
Scout.com and was rated as the No. 150 prospect in the senior class by
Rivals.com. He received offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Boston College, Central Florida, LSU, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh, Providence, SMU, UNLV, and Virginia Tech. Following official visits to Minnesota, Nebraska and UNLV, Tshimanga committed to the Cornhuskers.
Here are some highlights of Jordy from summer ball in 2015:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=7uqUpDPnmu0
Tshimanga had 21 points and 12 boards in a game vs. Hargrave:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=932_JizEvBY
ESPN had this to say about the big man:
“Tshimanga is an absolute load in the paint. Not only is he immovable in the post but he also has terrific hands and very good natural touch. He isn’t a bad athlete for his size, has an instinctive understanding of how to use his wide lower body to clear out space inside, and will already seal and dunk in traffic. He sets massive screens on the perimeter and is a good pick and roll option because of his ability to come up with tough catches on the move. He can step out and shoot the ball to 12-15 feet and is an even more difficult match-up problem because he’s left handed. He’s a solid positional shot-blocker and rebounder but a constant space eater and physical deterrent for opposing dribble drivers.” ESPN currently has Tshimanga ranked as a four star player.
Scout.com chimed in with this report:
“Tshimanga, who stands 6-foot-10 and weighs in at 245-pounds, is able to carve out space in the lane with his size and strength in his legs. Tshimanga rebounds his area well and was able to get a handful of put backs just from getting in great position for offensive rebounds. He also contested shots and played physical in the paint. He’s not a finished product and will need to spruce up his offense, but the tools are there.” Scout currently ranks Tshimanga as the 25th best center in the class of 2016.
There are lots of video highlights from his two year stint as a Cornhusker:
A 'naughty by nature' drive and dunk vs. Penn State:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C5dY6TcaFQ
Here is vid of a follow-up dunk vs. Delaware State:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97JqcHHwBqg
Tshimanga with the one-hand jam vs. Michigan State. Here's hoping Jordy gets the chance to duplicate this feat in Maui:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRX_6NUmX7k
The following is an interview with Jordy from his freshman year at Nebraska:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo-JG5BaHfM
Busting Brackets on Jordy, whom they project as a starter:
Tshimanga spent his first two years at Nebraska but one thing really stands out and that’s the lack of minutes he was given. Tshimanga started 18 games his sophomore year but only averaged 13.6 minutes per game. I expect Tshimanga will start most games but will likely continue that trend of not getting more than 15-20 minutes. The bench is deep meaning Grant has a lot of options as to who will come in for Tshimanga and it’ll likely depend on the game and situation.
Bucky Bockhorn had this to say about Jordy in a recent interview with David Jablonski of
The DDN:
The guy that most impresses me this year is Jordy (Tshimanga). He’s in shape. He’s worked his (butt) off. He’s moving his feet very well. He’s playing hard. He can be a factor for us.
Jordy won the 2018 Summer Tipoff according to this tweet from Jablonski:
https://twitter.com/davidpjablonski/...36735107661824
A word of caution here:
It's readily apparent that Jordy is a big man with a big personality, but fans need to remember that he is
not Steve McElvene. There will only ever be one Big Steve.
The Flyers have had recent success with high major transfers in the personages of Vee Sanford from Georgetown and Jordan Sibert from OSU. Like Chase Johnson and Ibi Watson, Jordy was underutilized at his previous school and the
Flyer Faithful can only hope that Tshimanga thrives like Vee and Jordan did in his two seasons at UD.
That's it "From the Swamp."
You can email me at:
swampy@udpride.com