It has to be a heavy burden for rising senior Kuran Iverson to constantly be compared to his more famous cousin, future NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson. After all, “The Answer” was an 11 time NBA All Star, 4 time scoring champion, and the ’01 league MVP.
But now that the younger Iverson has committed to play his college ball at the University of Memphis following next season, the world will now see that Kuran is a very good player in his own right, and seems poised to become an immediate impact, potential one-and-done type player as Memphis plays their inaugural season in the Big East Conference for ’13-’14.
The 6’8 aqnd 200+ lb Iverson is the #27 overall ranked prospect in the 2013 Class but has a vastly different skill set than his iconic cousin. While A.I. will go down as pound-for-pound one of the best scorers in NBA history, Kuran is more of a versatile player in the mold of Lamar Odom in that he has innate ball-handling for a player of his size, can score either inside or outside, and projects as an above average defensive player in part because of some sneaky good athleticism and a measured 7’0+ wingspan.
On the downside, Iverson still commits a ton of turnovers and needs to add weight to a rather thin frame but many feel he has as much upside as any player in the senior class which is saying alot considering the 2013 Class also includes #1 ranked HS player Julius Randle, potentially the best HS player since Lebron in Jabari Parker, and Blake Griffin clone Aaron Gordon.
Kuran Iverson now joins a very impressive 4 man 2013 recruiting class for Memphis coach Pastner as he also has reeled in two other fellow Top 100 talents in SF Nick King(#27) and PG Rashawn Powell(#91), along with elite SG Markel Crawford. Iverson chose the Tigers over Florida and Connecticut.
Guess we should start calling him K.I.?
Check Out Kuran Iverson’s Summer Mixtape:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
