Photo: Elvin Rodriguez Jr. comes from the Bronx to the Mile High City

A second 2017 DU hoops recruit made a verbal commitment (VC) to Denver last week. High school senior Elvin Rodriguez had been receiving increased interest  – so the Pioneers pounced. Elvin is expected to play the off guard/shooting guard. He can score the ball from inside or outside. He joins Elijah Blake, another incoming athletic guard who is likely to play the point for Denver. Shortly after signing with Denver, Elijah recently injured his ACL and will miss his senior season – LetsGoDU wishes Elijah the best! Both players show athleticism, similar to that of Ade Murkey, so a playing style profile is emerging of versatile, athletic, and explosive players coming to Denver.

Congrats to @erod11075 on his commit to UofD! That makes 3 D1 commits and 4 D3 commits from our last season's team. #Prepn2bRepn #ctbb pic.twitter.com/cJ84CqkXUW

— GFA Boys Basketball (@GFAbasketball) November 12, 2016

*The fact that Denver Boone made his twitter announcement trumps the ‘UofD’ error. Great to have Elvin as our newest Pioneer!

This is a great video of Rodriquez (#23) battling indoors and outdoors in New York. His game is fast.

In this video (below), he is wearing #5 and displays a great first step and deft shooting touch.

Elvin goes to Fort Trails Academy in the Bronx, NY. His AAU team in 2016 was CM3 Elite in the Bronx. When reviewing his summer league performance, Recruit the Bronx said, “Elvin is a quick, athletic guard that can shoot the ball. He seems to have been on a mission to prove himself in the past year or two and he definitely didn’t disappoint. His explosiveness makes him hard to guard and I wouldn’t be surprised if you see him doing great things for a good Division 1 program.” His junior year, according to Max Preps, he averaged 12.7 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.

With the backcourt taken care of, look for the Pioneers to focus on larger players, 6’7″ or greater, to build the front court.