Ra Kpedi of Lawrence North committed to Vermont on Wednesday. Kpedi joins a growing list of Indiana natives to play at Vermont.

Kpedi burst on the high school scene after hitting a growth spurt between his freshman and sophomore years. Kpedi attracted widespread attention from college coaches. He was the interior presence for Lawrence North over the last three seasons. As a sophomore, Kpedi helped Lawrence North win a Sectional title. As a senior, he was a consistent scorer more than ever. 

Along the way to this point, Kpedi earned scholarship offers from a host of schools like Ball State, Indiana State, IUPUI, Northern Kentucky and Cornell to name a few. Kpedi and his family thought about taking a post-graduate year after high school. He is young for his graduating class, so an extra year of development was debated. In the end, Kpedi decided that Vermont was the best situation for him.

Vermont is no stranger to Indiana prospects as Hoosier natives Dre Wills, Ernie Duncan, Everett Duncan and Josh Speidel were all Catamounts this past season. Vermont faced Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this season and finished with a 29-6 record.

The biggest thing that Kpedi brings to Vermont is rebounding. His offensive rebounding numbers have been very good against top end competition. Kpedi proved his rebounding prowess on the adidas Gauntlet circuit with Indiana Elite and Eric Gordon. He will be able to make an impact in that area from day one. With time, Ra Kpedi should develop into a steady scorer in the paint as well.