Lumpkin commits to Northwestern hoops

Northwestern picked up its third new player for the 2012-13 season Friday when 6-foot-6 forward Sanjay Lumpkin from Minneapolis gave his word to Bill Carmody. Lumpkin, who hails from the same school (St. Benilde-Margaret in St. Louis Park, Minn.) as Wisconsin all-American guard Jordan Taylor, joins Indiana 7-footer Alex Olah and TCU power forward Nikola Cerina as new Wildcats. Cerina is already with NU, but must sit out this year as a transfer. Online scouting reports suggest Lumpkin is an athletic slasher who can get to the rim. He certainly boasts some athletic genes as his father, Sean, earned first-team all-Big Ten honors in 1991 as a defensive back for Minnesota. He went on to be a fourth-round draft pick and spent five seasons with the New Orleans Saints. Here’s how Northwestern’s 2012-13 roster looks at this point (scholarships only): Seniors: F/G Drew Crawford G Alex Marcotullio Juniors: G JerShon Cobb F Nikola Cerina Sophomores: G Dave Sobolewski G Tre Demps F Michael Turner Freshmen: C Alex Olah F Sanjay Lumpkin As you can see, the Wildcats still have four open rides. The coaches hope to land one or two more commitments before school begins and wouldn’t mind landing a five-man class if that’s how things shake out. LW