Penn State goes big with Elijah Hutchins-Everett
Already sitting with a well-stocked roster for the coming years, Penn State struck again in the 2021 class. Elijah Hutchins-Everett, a big body with an evolving skillset, committed to the Nittany Lions on Monday.
“I felt the family environment from them. They are great at player development and can help me on and off the court and also help me reach my goal,” Hutchins-Everett told Rivals.com. “They always check on me and my family at all times during the pandemic and I feel at home with Penn State.”
A solid three-star center from the state of New Jersey that will finish his prep career at Putnam Science Academy beginning in the fall, Hutchins-Everett is a quality win for Pat Chambers on the recruiting front. Hearing overtures from a variety of regional high-majors, Hutchins-Everett is the 30th best center in America, and will fill the scholarship that John Harrar will leave after the season once he graduates.
Hutchins-Everett possesses a big body but has decent mobility in getting up and down the floor and also extending the defense in the half-court. He can knock down shots as far out as the perimeter and has soft hands and good touch around the basket. One of the more skilled bigs that Pat Chambers has enrolled in recent years, Hutchins-Everett has the frame that should only fill out further as he matures and the characteristics of a two-way weapon that can block and alter shots at the rim on the defensive end.
The third member of Penn State’s 2021 class, Hutchins-Everett will enroll alongside a complimentary piece in TaQuan Woodley, a blue-collared forward that is known for his production around the basket. Houston Mallette will join the two next fall, which should also allow for Chambers and his staff to exert more energy on the 2022 class, though they already sit with the commitment of three-star guard Sonny Johnson Jr.