The University of Massachusetts basketball team got a bit of good news late Tuesday night in the form of a verbal commitment from talented Chicago point guard LuWane Pipkins.

Pipkins, a 5-foot-9, 155-pound high school junior at Bogan Preparatory School, is rated a 3-star prospect by most of the major online scouting outlets, including 247sports.com, Scout.com and Rivals.com (No. 122 overall). News of his commitment was first reported by the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

Pipkins, who plays AAU ball for Mac Irvin Fire, becomes the first member of the Minutemen's 2015 recruiting class. Expected to receive more attention than ever from recruiters this summer, he's also drawn interest from power conference schools like Creighton, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Tennessee, West Virginia and Atlantic 10 rival La Salle.

"I just felt it was right for me," Pipkins told the Chicago Tribune. "I watch them play, and I saw that Coach (Derek Kellogg) let Chaz (Williams) play his game."

Sized similarly to outgoing point guard Chaz Williams, Pipkins is also described as a playmaker who can lead a team offensively. He possesses a pretty jump shot and is a strong on-ball defender with a knack for pick-pocketing lazy ball handlers.

Per the Chicago Tribune, which named Pipkins its January athlete of the month, he was averaging 27 points, five steals and four assists to go with 90 percent free-throw and 46 percent 3-point percentages though Feb. 8 for Bogan.