College Commitment – Paolo Flores (2024 North Bend)

At times it can be tricky to get a lot of recruiting attention on the South Coast. As a result, Paolo Torres remained largely hidden for most of his senior season but he never gave up. The shifty 5-foot-8 point guard led the charge for North Bend and while they just missed making the post-season, Torres had plenty of moments. He certainly caught the attention of hometown Southwest Oregon Community College and that's where he'll start his college career next season.

"SWOCC was the best fit for me because knowing what their programs like and growing up around it, I felt more gravitated towards it knowing that I knew how they did things," Flores said. "I've been to multiple basketball camps there, seen countless games, and etc. and it also made me a lot more comfortable knowing that the head coach was Mr. Grandenetti. He was my middle school P.E teacher and we would talk pretty frequently, so over the years we built a pretty solid relationship."

The plan for Flores is to redshirt his first season at SWOCC and it's something he feels will be beneficial. "Ine thing I want to focus on in this redshirt year is definitely slowing the game down for myself," Flores said. "I know I'm definitely skilled enough to play at the next level, but I don't think I'm where I need to be at yet to be able to impact the game the way I want to. So this year, knowing that I'm gonna be surrounded a lot of talented players, i feel like it's definitely gonna benefit me in becoming a better player."

A point guard with a slick handle and compact, strong build, Flores with his quickness and floor leadership. While North Bend wasn't able to make the post-season, Flores will always remember his senior season with a lot of fondness.

"I've been playing with the same group of guys since 5th grade and our chemistry is great - we've been playing together for a long, long time," Flores said. "I will forever remember these guys as my brothers and I'm very grateful for the opportunity I've been given to play this game with the guys around me."

Our congratulations go out to Flores and his family on his commitment.