College Commitments: Portland Gila Monsters Moving On
Eastern Arizona College in Thatcher has long harvested a pipeline to the Portland metro area for players and the Gila Monsters have helped them develop and move on to the next level. Joining names such as Bryant, James, Sanders-Frison, Paschal, etc. this year will be the Amaris, Amari Hale and Amari Stafford. The 2017 graduates of Central Catholic and Jefferson have both decided to continue their college careers by coming back home to the Pacific Northwest.
Amari Hale recently decided to head to the Last Frontier. “I signed with Alaska Anchorage,” Hale said. “I just felt like I would play the biggest role there. They really wanted me and showed a lot of interest and that was the biggest part of my decision. The arena is nice and the school is nice. It’s a little cold but it doesn’t bother me that much. It’s a nice place.”
The Seawolves started recruiting Hale via assistant coach Ryan Orton, who had actually recruited the point guard back in high school at Central Catholic when he was the head coach at Western Wyoming CC. Hale had been talking to schools like Portland State, Western Washington, and Missouri-Kansas City a little but after taking a visit to Anchorage a couple of weeks ago, he decided that it was the place for him.
Hale finished his sophomore season at Eastern Arizona averaging 13.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. A bit of a raw product his last year at Central Catholic, he feels he’s really developed these past two seasons at the JC level (he played his freshman year at Midland College in Texas).
“As a player I’ve learned how to control myself,” Hale said. “I can play at different speeds and not just be out of control. That was the biggest part for me.”
Portland and Eastern Arizona have some history with Alaska-Anchorage: 2008 Portland Wilson grad Mario Gill played for the Seawolves after a solid two-year career with the Gila Monsters.
Also moving on to the GNAC is teammate Amari Stafford. The Jefferson graduate was a member of 2017 6A title team and honed his skills the past two seasons at Eastern Arizona. As a freshman he averaged 8.8 points and 4.5 rebounds and upped his averages to 10.6 points and 4.7 rebounds this past year, while shooting a sizzling 92.3 percent from the free throw line. He will move on to Central Washington next year.
“I feel like Central would put me in a good position to graduate from college, also put me in a good position to continue my basketball career after college,” Stafford said in a release put out by CWU. “It’s close to home as well, I just felt like this was the best fit for me.”
Both Hale and Stafford participated in the Prime Time Top 40 Showcase prior to their senior years in high school.
Also signing with Central Washington is another Pacific Northwest product – Rayvaughn Bolton from Kent, Washington. Bolton averaged 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists this past season at Eastern Arizona.