Linn-Benton Starting to Load Up
For the second straight year, Linn-Benton head coach Todd Zimmerman is looking at bringing in a big class of freshmen recruits and so far he's gotten off to a good start. The Roadrunners have traditionally gotten it done starting in-state and that's exactly who the first three guys who are coming in from in West Albany's Tyson Walker, McMinnville's Tomas Merlier, and North Eugene's Zach Fisher.
In Walker, Zimmerman didn't have to go far at all to land the all-around athlete. There were several different opportunities for the 6-foot-3 wing/forward, including playing football at the college level, but hoops will be where Walker will start up. A two-time First Team All-Mid-Willamette Conference honoree who averaged 12.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists last season, the decision to stay close to home came down to a lot of factors.
"It was really the culmination of all these great things," Walker said. "For one coach Zimmerman is super great, he sees in my game what I see in it (even though we agreed its hard to put into words) and he trusts me almost more than I do myself, he also has the ability to develop players move them onto higher levels. The players, I got right along with the players even after just a couple open gyms, the players also get along with themselves and have a good time playing together and have a good brotherhood."
"The location - the campus is right down the road from my house so I won't bother worrying about lots of driving for school and practice or even moving out if I don't have/want to," Walker continued. "Then there's some other small things like High school credits that will transfer over, scholarships I already have to LB specifically, current high school friends that will also be there, and taking the specific classes I want. That's a lot, but it all really seemed like the best option in almost every category."
In Tomas Merlier, Linn-Benton lands a big man who Zimmerman believes is starting to scratch the surface of his potential. At 6-foot-7, the McMinnville senior has good size down low and this past season he averaged 9.1 points and 4.9 rebounds as a part-time starter for the Grizzlies. He's been continuing to play this spring with Oregon Tripl3 but is all set on joining the Roadrunners in the fall.
"I just felt really welcomed into their program," Merlier said. "Coach Zim showed a lot of interest in me and my development which made me choose Linn-Benton."
Also helping out immediately will be Zach Fisher from North Eugene. Standing 6-foot-6, the lefty adds great size on the wing and he's a player that Linn-Benton has been targeting for quite some time according to the senior - and in the end, that definitely paid off in his recruitment.
"Their coach Todd Zimmerman really likes me, he's been coming to my games and inviting me to open gyms for the past 2 and a half years and I like the way their offense is gonna work this year, really setting me up for success," Fisher said. "Also something that influenced my decision was that I talked a little bit to Eastern Washington and they told me they would potentially look at me in the portal out of a juco or d2 if I was showing that I can play at that level and I believe at Linn-Benton I will have plenty of chances to show that."
Our congratulations go out to Walker, Merlier, and Fisher and their families on their commitments. Linn-Benton hopes to add more players to this class in the near future so stay tuned to PrepHoops Oregon for all the latest news.
