Tuesday Recruiting Update
The NCAA signing period resumes on Wednesday and there will be some activity from some former Oregon prep players as they will be inking their signatures to secure their college basketball futures. Here’s a recap of some of the top…
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Continue ReadingThe NCAA signing period resumes on Wednesday and there will be some activity from some former Oregon prep players as they will be inking their signatures to secure their college basketball futures. Here’s a recap of some of the top recruiting stories over the past few days.
The biggest name to commit over the weekend was former 6A Player of the Year Elijah Gonzales (2017 Clackamas) who made a pledge to Louisiana-Monroe. The speedy 5-foot-9 point guard has traveled around the country a bit after taking the Cavs to the 6A title game in 2017 and spent this past year at Clarendon Junior College in Texas, where he helped lead the team to a #3 seed in the NJCAA tournament before it was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic. He led the high-powered WJCAC in assists at seven per game while also averaging 11.6 points and 3.8 rebounds. Gonzales had the opportunity to come back home as he held an offer from Portland, but he decided to move on to continue his career in the Sun Belt Conference.
The other big recruiting news over the weekend was the decision of Jesse White Jesse White 6'0" | CG Sam Barlow | 2020 State OR (2020 Barlow) decommitting from Western Oregon. The 6-foot-1 point guard – who earned First Team 6A All-State honors and led the state in scoring at 24.8 pppg – had originally committed to the Wolves at the start of the new year and promptly went on a tear on the court afterward. Since he hadn’t yet signed a letter-of-intent, some Division I schools started calling to inquire about his status and White decided to re-open his recruitment. It will be interesting to see what kind of interest develops as a result.
A senior from this year that has made a decision on his college future was Kobe Withers Kobe Withers 6'0" | CG Sprague | 2020 State OR (2020 Sprague) who signed with Chemeketa. The 6-foot guard is the master of the mid-range and his ability to play both ends of the floor certainly endeared him to the Storm coaching staff. A high-academic student, he will be able to leave after one season if given the opportunity. Withers averaged 13.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.2 steals this past season at Sprague.
“I feel Chemeketa is the perfect place to allow me to continue growing my game and get to the next level,” Withers said. “Coach A and the coaching staff are great people and know what it takes to win. I think I fit in with their style of play really well.”
A couple of former Oregon preps could be making decisions this week, joining Hunter Sweet (2017 Beaverton/Concordia) who we recently caught up with his decision to transfer to Alaska-Anchorage. One guy that has stated he will decide on Saturday will be Cameron Parker (2017 Jesuit/Sacred Heart). The 6-foot-2 point guard narrowed his list to five: FIU, Portland State, Montana, Hawaii, and Akron. Parker averaged 9.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 7.8 assists this past year at Sacred Heart, setting the NCAA Division I single-season game record for assists with 24. He is slated to sit out a season before becoming eligible at his next spot but could apply for a waiver.
Jordan May (2017 Reynolds/Point Loma Nazarene) may also be close to finding a new home for his final year of eligibility. May had transferred to Point Loma from Eastern Oregon and was an instant success, averaging 12.5 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting over 44 percent from three-point range. A marksman from the outside, the 6-foot-3 wing unfortunately didn’t feel the fit was right to finish out his college career in San Diego, so he entered the transfer portal. He’s talked with a number of D-II and NAIA programs since, most notably Cal State Monterey Bay.
And finally in Class of 2021 news, Trace Salton Trace Salton 6'5" | SF Lake Oswego | 2021 State OR (2021 Lake Oswego) picked up his first Division I offer this week from UC Riverside. According to Lake Oswego head coach Marshall Cho, the offer was made after the UCR coaching staff watched tape of Salton. This could be the jumpstart to Salton’s recruitment before he suits up for Oregon Prospects whenever AAU basketball resumes.