Ron Artest III, son of Metta World Peace, will play for Cal State Northridge this season

Cal State Northridge might have picked up one its biggest prospects at the eleventh hour.

Ron Artest III, son of NBA veteran Metta World Peace, verbally committed to playing at Cal State Northridge yesterday, according to Hillcrest Prep’s Twitter account.

The two-star recruit had offers from Portland and Purdue Fort Wayne as well, per Verbal Commits.

Ron Artest III played his high school ball at Palisades before transferring to Beverly Hills High School after his sophomore season. Artest and his younger brother Jeron prepped at Hillcrest Preparatory Academy in Phoenix, Arizona this past year. Yet throughout all of these changes, Artest has turned heads with his raw athleticism and ability to finish at the rim.

Listed as a 6’8 power forward, Artest III picked up a love for basketball after a late growth spurt. The physical growth led to a larger love of the game, as he stated in a 2016 interview with Vice Sports:

”I was lazy when I was younger,” Artest III said. Still, in his sophomore year at Palisades High, he led the team in rebounding and into the postseason.

“Now that I like the game and have a passion for it, I’m very focused on reaching my full potential,” he said.

Now it’s up to Cal State Northridge’s first-year head coach Mark Gottfried to see if he can reach it. Artest is still very raw player, but the combination of the potential he’s shown so far and his family background make for an intriguing storyline.

The Big West will have many sons with NBA pedigree suit up this season. Artest joins UC Santa Barbara’s Maxwell Kupchak (son of Charlotte Hornets GM Mitch Kupchak), plus UC Irvine’s JC Butler (son 14-year NBA vet and current ESPN color commentator Caron Butler), Spencer Rivers (son of Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers) and Max Hazzard (grandson of the late UCLA legend Walt Hazzard).