I only caught part of the Africa-Latin American third-place bout tonight at the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion. But one thing that stuck out to me about Jurkin beyond his obvious size? He was impressively fast, and smooth, running down the court as his team pushed the pace in the fourth quarter.

I know it has little wow factor, but for a kid that’s yet to fill out his near 7-foot frame and still has two years left of high school, I think it says something that he runs the floor well instead of being awkward or out of sorts.

Below is my brief chat with Jurkin, immediately after he committed on-air to IU and before he was whisked away to other media members.

So you just committed to IU, and have two years left of high school. What factored into your decision to commit early?

I [made the decision] early because I wanted to be focused on school and basketball — try to not think about what college [I'm] going to.

What was it about IU that made you want to commit?

I like the coach. I like the program. I believe when I get there he’s going to make me better and try and make me go to the next level.

What are you looking to work on in the next two years, and maybe what has the coaching staff told you they want you to work on? Is it adding some size to your frame?

I’ve been trying to [add size] … But I’ve had too many games, too many practices [to focus on it]. But this year I’m going to try and be in the weight program and try and [get] big. [I'll also work on] my jump shot, my dribble, handles and everything.

Photo credit: Jack Arent/adidas

As expected, Indiana received its first 2012 commitment on Monday night as Peter Jurkin gave a verbal pledge to the Hoosiers during halftime of the adidas Nations Global Challenge championship game in Chicago.

“I have decided to commit to Indiana University. It’s a good college. Good coach. I like it,” Jurkin said on the broadcast.

Jurkin, a 7-0, 200-pound native of Sudan, plays at United Faith Christian Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina and for Indiana Elite Team Indiana. He is not ranked by Rivals.com and is listed as a three-star prospect by Scout.com, but that is expected to change based on his play during the July evaluation period.

Here’s Inside the Hall’s scouting report on Jurkin from the adidas Invitational and the Kentucky Hoopfest:

There are a lot of things to like about Jurkin’s size. He’s a legit 7-footer and does a stellar job defending the lane. His length is such that he can often block shots by simply standing his ground with his arms up. He also runs the floor extremely well and shows a pretty nice touch from the foul line. A bit concerning, however, is his lack of upper body strength. It’s no fault of Jurkin’s, but he’ll need to improve in that area to become a real difference maker at the next level. Offensively, he’s still pretty raw and will need to continue developing a go-to post move or two. Still, his ceiling is high enough that it’s a bit surprising he’s not held in a higher regard by the national scouts.

We’ll have more on Jurkin’s commitment later as Ryan was in attendance tonight in Chicago.

(Photo credit: Rivals.com)