Ben Shtolzberg, 2022 point guard, commits to Creighton Bluejays
Ben Shtolzberg, a 6-foot-5 point guard, has committed to Creighton basketball for the class of 2022, he tells On3.
Shtolzberg is the Bluejay’s first commitment in the class. Creighton has been on a roll on the recruiting trail, as they finished with a top-10 recruiting class last year – the highest in the modern recruiting era for the program.
Shtolzberg plays for Sherman Oaks (Calif.) Notre Dame, where he averaged nearly 19 points a game last season. He chose the Bluejays over Rutgers, Northwestern, Butler, Virginia Tech and Maccabi Tel Aviv (pro option).
Ben Shtolzberg on why he chose Creighton
“They really stood out to me,” Shtolzberg said. “One just being the relationship with the coaching staff, Coach Mac (Greg McDermott) and Coach Ryan Miller. They were both really calling me every day. They told me I was their No. 1, and that I was the guard they wanted this year. They showed that through their actions. For example, they didn’t get visits from anyone because they wanted to wait for me. So that really made me feel like a priority. That’s the biggest thing for me. And having trust and a coach that’s going to believe in me and help me when I get there.”
“I like the way they play too. They play 3 or 4 guards at a time. There’s a lot of spacing which allows me to create and create for each other. They also have a really good history… a good track record of getting guards like me to the NBA, and of course, that’s the goal. Guys like Marcus Zegarowski, Ty-Shon Alexander… they’re both doing really well. So if I just need to trust the process and work hard.”
Ben Shtolzberg on the pro route — Maccabi Tel Aviv
“It’s the big pro team in Israel in the Euro League,” Ben Shtolzberg said. “With my parents being Israeli, and me being Jewish, that was a real option for us. They put an offer down for $500,000 to go there, instead of college to prepare. The only issue with that though was since there isn’t a lot of people in Israel, there is a rule where you have to serve in the military for like 3 or 4 months. Everyone at 18 years old has to serve. If you’re a citizen of Israel, when you turn 18… you have to serve three years. Girls have to serve two years. They’re always at war so they need an army at all times.”