Apr 21, 2009 - 02:38 PM

By Brad Kelly

AJAX -- Central Connecticut State has made a commitment to Jonathan Tull, but no promises.

That part is up to him.

The Division I school has committed a full scholarship that will see the 19-year-old suit up for the Blue Devil basketball program for the next four years. While the offer secures the post-secondary future of the 6-foot-3 shooting guard from Pickering High School, it doesn't guarantee him the minutes on the floor come game time. Those, he will have to earn.

"They sat me down and told me that they need a scorer to come down and basically run the program," says Tull. "Right now they can't promise me that I will start because they want me to work and keep working hard for my time.

"They feel I could play huge minutes with the team, but they won't promise me anything."

Tull recalls being intrigued by the thought of a scholarship about four years ago when he made the Ontario U15 team and was named a first-team all-star at the 2005 Nationals. His first letter of recruitment came from Cornell.

"I didn't know too much about the (NCAA programs) in the States," he recalls. "But a lot of people told me I could do great things and possibly play outside of Canada."

He garnered interest from notables such as Duquesne, George Washington, Iowa State and New Hampshire, but he had a good feeling about the family atmosphere that surrounds Central Connecticut. It was the only campus he visited, and it confirmed his intuition.

"The school was with me from day one and they really pushed me into feeling comfortable with the school," he says. "All they want is to get to the NCAA March Madness tournament and they feel with having me there that their chances are a lot better."

In Pickering, he leaves behind a team that won bronze at the Quad-A OFSAA basketball championships this year. In Central Connecticut he is looking forward to the level of competition and the atmosphere that surrounds college basketball.

"Just going out there and knowing I will be going against the best day in and day out," he says of the excitement he will feel when he leaves in July.