Sun Devils Land McMillan

Head coach Herb Sendek and his staff strike again! Less than a week after landing blue chipper James Harden, the Sun Devils continued on their 2007 recruiting class tear and secured the commitment of O’Dea (Wash.) standout Jamelle McMillan. Devils Digest caught up with the point guard shortly after his announcement.

“It feels great,” said the 6-2 180 Jamelle McMillan who visited Arizona State unofficially this past weekend. “It’s a good situation working with Coach Sendek and the rest of the staff. It should be fun. I didn’t expect to commit before the visit, but those guys laid out a great trip over two days. They showed me all the facilities, they talked about the plans for new facilities, talked about the nutrition and the conditioning program, I met with the school’s president...I really enjoyed myself.”

The point guard was accompanied by his mother, and McMillan admitted that he told her right after the visit ended that he was going to commit. He did however want the blessing of his father, Portland Trailblazers coach Nate McMillan, and naturally did receive it when he got back home to Seattle and talked to him. “He supported my decision, and congratulated me this morning,” remarked McMillan. “Right after that I started calling the coaches.”

One aspect that wasn’t lost on McMillan was the verbal commitment of Harden, and the fact that Duke Transfer Eric Boateng is already in Tempe and will begin his maroon and gold tenure at the same time McMillan will. “Just to come in with two guys like that is great,” commented McMillan. “I love how both those guys play. Harden is very aggressive and has a great jump shot and Boateng and where he played speaks for itself. I’m looking forward to a great class. It will obviously be a rebuilding stage, but over the course of four years; we’ll get a lot accomplished.”

McMillan, who becomes the Sun Devils’ second commitment of the 2007 class, said that he canceled all plans to visit his other suitors such as Clemson and Georgia Tech. His next visit will be an official one to Tempe and will take place next month. “I just have to see when my dad’s schedule will allow that visit,” he said.

The whole trip overall was enjoyable, but there was one part of the visit that certainly sealed the deal. “The main thing was the closing speech by Coach Sendek at the end of the visit,” described McMillan. “You could feel how honest and dedicated he was with my recruitment. Coach Phelps, Coach Miller all gave their input and made me feel like I was better than anybody in the whole wide world. They showed all summer long how much the wanted me, but this visit really showed me how much of a great situation Arizona State will be for me.”

A great situation that is only getting better...