The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team picked up its fourth commitment for the 2017 signing class over the weekend, with former Hamilton Heights standout Joan Duran pledging to the program.
Duran, a 6-foot-7, 220-pounder, made his nonbinding pledge after a weekend visit to UTC. He originally committed to Middle Tennessee State after a prep career in which he averaged 9.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game as a senior for the Hawks, a nationally-ranked prep school.
The Dominican Republic native instead chose to attend Eastern Florida State College, a junior college in Cocoa, Fla. Duran averaged 5.5 points, five rebounds and nearly two assists per game for a team that finished 27-5 and advanced to the second round of the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament.
Duran has a 7-foot-1 wingspan, and figures to play a "stretch 4" position due to his versatility as well as his length.
He joins Chipola College sophomore Eric Turner and prep seniors Jalen Crutcher and Terry Nolan Jr., as commitments for next season. In addition, Iowa transfer Andrew Fleming and Makinde London, who played last season at Xavier, are already in the program but must sit out the 2016-17 season.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.