ASU MBB: Sun Devils add to their 2016-17 Roster
Head Coach Bobby Hurley continued a successful off-season for the Sun Devils by adding Ramon Vila to the roster for the upcoming season.
Vila is a 6-foot-9, 230 pound big man who currently plays for the Spanish preliminary squad for the FIBA U20 European Championships.
Vila also played 29 games for FC Barcelona’s second-division squad. During his time with the Euro League team he averaged 5.3 points and 3.7 rebounds during an average of 15 minutes a game.
Hurley was very excited to have Vila joining the team.
“We are excited to welcome Ramon to the Sun Devil basketball program. He has been very productive against high level international competition and has a high IQ for the game & will provide a rugged interior presence.”
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Adding vila fits in with Hurley’s recruiting plan of adding size in the front court. Vila has NBA size even though he is only 18 years old, he will be a great rebounder for the Sun Devils.
A part of his game that is yet to be seen is how well he will perform in the post. If Vila already has a solid post game then he could very well receive a high number of minutes and become the go-to guy down low on offense.
The most likely scenario for a guy like Vila is that he will have a nice defensive game, but his offensive game won’t be up to par. Even though he has nice size, he will have to work on developing his offensive skills down low. Also, basketball is played at a much faster pace in the United States compared to overseas so, making sure Vila is properly conditioned will be another area for Hurley to work on with him before the season begins.
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Even though there might be a little bit of a learning curve, this is a signing that the Sun Devils can be happy about as they have added some much-needed size and depth to their front court after a season where size was nowhere to be found.