Ukranian guard Max Shulga commits to Utah State
Fresh off the signing of Polish center, Szymon Zapala, Utah State head coach Craig Smith has added another European prospect, this time a 6-foot-4 shooting guard and Ukranian international, Max Shulga.
This past year, Shulga participated in the 2019 U18 FIBA European Championships for his native Ukraine, playing in eight games during the competition. He averaged 13.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals.
One thing to note about his stats is that two of those eight games, vs Ireland and Slovakia, are statistical outliers as he played fewer minutes in those games (14 and 11 respectively, down from his 30.0 average in the other six games). If you exclude those, his averages rise to 17.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
“As witnessed by his numbers, Max is a versatile player that does a lot of things well on both ends of the court,” said Smith in a press release. “He’s tough, gritty, highly skilled and has a very good feel for the game. Max has great passion and energy. When you combine that with his character, he will thrive at Utah State.”
Following the European Championships, Luka Drca of Eurohopes Basketball Prospects wrote a short evaluation on Shulga who was listed as one of the top performers of Division B.
“Crafty guard who can play both on and off the ball. Solid frame. Not a great athlete but solid enough. High basketball IQ, understands the game, moves well on the court. Tough, fearless. Attacks the rim with both hands and finishes through contacts. Very good using fakes, screens and hesitations to create space. Good shooter off the catch, efficient from beyond the arc. Proper feel on the P&R, knows where his teammates are all the time.”
Utah State has been linked through rumors to numerous guards who have been in the transfer portal this spring as Smith attempts to fill the void left by the departure of Sam Merrill, Diogo Brito and Abel Porter. The current stable of guards Shulga will join includes Virginia transfer, Marco Anthony, who will be eligable to play after sitting out a season, along with sophomore Sean Bairstow and fellow incoming recruits, Rollie Worster and Steven Ashworth.
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