It was a rapid ascent for 6’9” Jethro Tshisumpa of Mountain Mission School in Grundy Virginia. When invited to the 2015 Virginia Top 80, not many people had heard of Tshisumpa however through that performance his name quickly began to circulate.
Following the Virginia Top 80 we wrote, “Walking onto the court Tshisumpa passes the look test. He has a big, strong, and explosive body that carries a 7’6” wing span on a 260 pound frame. Tshisumpa’s Camp Coach Robert Churchwell stated, “Jethro has a big time body, and is an excellent weak side defender. A lot of the categories given don’t describe the impact he has on the game. Kid has a man’s body and MAJOR potential.” We loved Tshiumpa’s motor and his attempt to tear the rim off the backboard each time.”
It was Arizona State that was the first school to offer Tshisumpa (a native of The Congo) after his Virginia Top 80 performance, then SMU quickly followed suit and now Georgetown, West Virginia, Baylor and others were getting heavily involved. However, it was his play at the NBA Top 100 camp that cemented his status among the elite big men in the country.
After watching him at the NBA Top 100 Camp we wrote, “He is a strong, two-handed rebounded and he runs rim to rim eagerly, anticipating any offensive scoring opportunities. Although he is still somewhat raw offensively, any rebound within five feet is followed up by a “tear the rim” off dunk attempt. Tshisumpa is still learning the game but one thing is for certain, he enjoys competing and playing at the higher level. He has a great on the court personality.”
As we mentioned earlier, Arizona State was the first school to offer Tshisumpa after the Virginia Top 80. Tshisumpa went head-to-head against consensus Top 50 players Mamadi Diakite and Sacha Killeya-jones as well recent hot high major item Ejike Obinna. In each match up, Tshisumpa was not outplayed in the battle, because of his unique and elite ability to rebound and protect the rim.
Tshisumpa is very aware of how the Virginia Top 80 helped him and his recruitment. Tshisumpa’s coach at Mountain Mission Pawel Mrozik stated, “The Virginia Top 80 was huge for his exposure and confidence. It was definitely the first time he was noticed like that. We had a hard time with him in the beginning, but after that event he came around. Big Time!”
What is Arizona State getting with Tshisumpa, Mrozik describes Tshisumpa as, “He will have an immediate impact on defense with a college ready body. He actually has a soft touch around the rim, where he has improved a lot. His hands are a lot better too.”