WSU basketball recruiting: Cougs add forward Arinze Chidom to 2016 class

Arinze Chidom, a 6-foot-9, 190-pound forward originally hailing from Oakland, Calif., has signed with Washington State, according to Brad Winton of JUCORecruiting.com. WSU has since announced Chidom's signing in a release.

"The main reason I chose Washington State was that it was great school with strong academics," Chidom said in the release. "I felt the coaching staff did a good job of showing me all the benefits of attending Washington State, and it’s really a place that I belong.

"I know that the staff will take care of me as long as I take care of my business. Going into this I wanted to find a school that would fit me the best. I fell in the love with the campus, it’s really nice, as well as the college-driven city of Pullman. I also really like my teammates. I felt like I wanted to go on campus and see if I could spend four or even five years at Washington State, and I definitely saw that and am excited about joining the Cougar family."

Chidom arrives at Washington State after a year at prep school playing for Sunrise Christian Academy, a highly respected prep program in Kansas that produced former Oklahoma star and current New Orleans Pelicans rookie Buddy Hield. The Bishop O'Dowd High School star was previously expected to play for Merritt College this season.

It’s unknown whether Chidom held any additional offers, though he averaged 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals per game last season at Sunrise Christian.

"Arinze completes an excellent recruiting class for this season," Kent said. "I like his length, athleticism, and most importantly, his skill set. He has a very bright future ahead of him and I’m excited to welcome him to the Cougar family."

The lengthy forward reportedly impressed at the All-American Junior College Showcase late last month.

As Kent noted, Chidom is an athletic forward and has soft touch around the rim, showing an ability to drive the line and create opportunities to score. There’s not a lot of film of Chidom, though it appears he has some range to his game. His defense is an unknown, but his 6-foot-10 wingspan certainly can’t hurt.

Chidom, who fills Ernie Kent’s final open scholarship for the 2016-17 season, is expected to arrive at Washington State as a true freshman. He joins Keith Langston, Jamar Ergas, Malachi Flynn, Milan Acquaah and Jeff Pollard as members of Kent’s third recruiting class at WSU.

Of note: Chidom’s older sister, Oderah, is a senior on the women’s basketball team at Duke.