Kirkwood CC guard commits to ISU

 Iowa State earned a verbal commitment Sunday morning from Kirkwood Community College guard Jordan Ashton, who confirmed the news to CycloneFanatic.com early Sunday afternoon.

 Ashton, a 6-4 guard from Mount Pleasant, averaged 16.4 points per game last season while playing under former Cyclone Bryan Petersen with the Eagles.

 He’ll be a preferred walk on (and a junior) at ISU and also attracted scholarship offers from Southern Illinois and UMKC, among many other low- to mid-major Division I programs.  

"It appeals to me a lot," Ashton said of ISU. "It’s a great coaching staff. They’re on the rise. They’re a really good program. There’s a lot of upside to it."

 Ashton earned first team NJCAA Division II all-American honors last season — and should provide extra depth in the backcourt as Naz Long and Hallice Cooke continue to rehab from postseason hip surgeries.

 Ashton shot 43.6 percent from 3-point range last season and 88 percent from the free throw line.

 He expects to arrive in Ames early next month and became the latest in a long line of gym rats at the Sukup Basketball Complex.

 "I’m just going to work hard," Ashton said. "I feel like I can score the ball pretty well but I still have a lot to work on, a lot to get better at. I have a high basketball IQ and I just want to help the team however I can."

 Ashton acknowledged hearing the rumors and speculation surrounding Cyclone coach Fred Hoiberg and his NBA possibilities, but Ames felt right regardless. 

"Of course that was a factor," Ashton said. "I’ve been hearing about Hoiberg possibly leaving or whatever, but I think no matter what, what they’ve built there, what they have going and with (assistant coach) T.J. (Otzelberger) — he was the one that’s mainly been recruiting me this whole time — I think that’s still going in the right direction and it would still be a great situation."