Hawaiian
quarterback de Laura 1 of 18 to pledge to Cougs
By Dale Grummert, Trib of Lewiston
12/19/2019
A few games into his senior season,
Hawaiian quarterback Jayden de Laura hadn’t received a single scholarship offer
from a Power 5 school. A month later, he had attracted three, including one
from juggernaut Ohio State.
But by that time, he had orally committed
to the first school to offer him, Washington State. He put that pledge in
writing Wednesday.
De Laura, who went 23-0 as the starter at
St. Louis High School in Honolulu, headlined a group of 18 football players,
all from the high school ranks, to submit letters of intent to the Cougars on
the opening day of the early signing period.
“He does a good job creating things,” WSU
coach Mike Leach said of the 6-foot-1, 190-pound de Laura. “He’s accurate,
energizes the offensive unit and is good on the move throwing the ball. And can
also take off when he needs to.”
But he didn’t take off to Ohio State or USC
when they extended back-to-back offers about a month after he’d committed to
the Cougars on Oct. 3.
“He’s got a lot of integrity,” Leach said.
“We were pretty confident he’d stick with it.”
While leading St. Louis to a repeat state
title this year, de Laura completed 71 percent of his passes for 3,452 yards
and 29 touchdowns, rushing for 345 more yards and eight scores.
The Cougars signed nine players on offense,
seven on defense, and perhaps did their best cupboard-stocking with the
acquisition of five offensive linemen. All 18 signees were consensus three-star
prospects, with de Laura pulling down the lone four-star rating.
“I ignore the stars,” said Leach, who’s
wrapping up his eighth year at WSU. “The bigger the media base, the more stars
you get. We’ll know better in two years but we think it’s a really good
incoming class, one of the best we’ve had here.”
Leach added to Apple Cup story lines by
signing versatile receiver Joey Hobert, the son of former University of
Washington and NFL quarterback Billy Joe Hobert.
One of the Cougars’ orally committed
recruits, linebacker Johnny Walker, of Tampa, Fla., reopened his recruitment
Wednesday, and WSU in turn offered and signed rush linebacker Marquise Freeman
from the same state.
“We’d been on him from the beginning,”
Leach said. “We had an opening and were really excited to have him.”
The Leach-era Cougars continued to scale
back in-state recruiting as they signed only one Washingtonian, offensive
lineman Devin Kylany of Lake Stevens. He and running back Marshawn Buchanan are
slated to enroll in January.
Between now and the start of the
traditional signing period in February, the Cougars will focus on acquiring
more defensive backs, having signed only three in this group. Their sense of
urgency in that regard is only higher after a season of shaky pass coverage and
the recent departure of a few defensive backs.
The Cougars (6-6) play Air Force in the
Cheez-It Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix on Dec. 27.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
WSU Football Class of 2020 recruits
12/18/2019
Trib Lewiston
JUSTIN
ANDERSON, cornerback, 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, Atherton High, East Palo Alto,
Calif. … three stars by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals … also played quarterback as
junior.
MOON
ASHBY, rush linebacker, 6-4, 200, Valley Christian High, San Jose, Calif. …
three stars by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals … 10 tackles for loss as senior.
MARSHAWN
BUCHANAN, running back, 6-0, 180, Adelanto High, Victorville, Calif. … three
stars by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals … rushed for 779 yards and 15 touchdowns as
senior.
JAYDEN DE
LAURA, quarterback, 6-1, 190, St. Louis High, Honolulu … four stars by Rivals
and three stars by ESPN and 247Sports … passed 228-for-319 for 3,452 yards and
29 touchdowns as senior, also rushed for 345 yards and eight touchdowns.
HUNTER
ESCORCIA, safety, 6-2, 180, Vista Murrieta High, Murrieta, Calif. … three stars
by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals … ran 14.54 in 110 hurdles as junior.
MARQUISE
FREEMAN, rush linebacker, 6-3, 195, Cocoa (Fla.) … three stars by ESPN and
247Sports … No. 75 DE in country by 247Sports
JOEY
HOBERT, receiver, 5-11, 180, San Juan Hills High, Ladera Ranch, Calif. … three
stars by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals … 1,924 all-purpose yards as senior, plus
105 tackles … No. 95 receiver in country by Rivals.
NATHANIEL
JAMES, defensive lineman, 6-0, 260, Avon (Ind.) High … three stars by ESPN,
247Sports and Rivals … No. 7 prospect in Indiana by ESPN.
DEVIN
KYLANY, offensive lineman, 6-5, 290, Lake Stevens (Wash.) High … three stars by
ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals … missed most of senior season with injury.
JACKSON
LATAIMUA, safety, 6-2, 200, Serra High, San Bruno, Calif. … three stars by ESPN
and 247Sports … made 31 tackles as senior.
JUSTIN
LOHRENZ, defensive lineman, 6-4, 240, Columbine High, Littleton, Colo. … three
stars by 247Sports … 17 sacks as a senior.
GABRIEL
LOPEZ, defensive end, 6-3, 240, Desert Pines High, Las Vegas … three stars by
247Sports and Rivals … No. 12 prospect in Nevada by 247.
DYLAN
MAYGINNES, offensive lineman, 6-5, 290, Hamilton High, Chandler, Ariz. … three
stars by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals … second-team all-state … brother of
Cougars OL Hunter Mayginnes.
JAMES
McNORTON, offensive lineman, 6-5, 275, Liberty High, Brentwood, Calif. … three
stars by 247Sports and Rivals.
CEDRIC
PELLUM, receiver, 6-1, 180, James Madison High, Dallas … three stars by ESPN,
247Sports and Rivals … caught 31 passes for 545 yards as senior.
JULIAN
RIPLEY, offensive lineman, 6-6, 260, Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) High … three
stars by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals.
KEYSHAWN
SMITH, receiver, 6-1, 170, Lincoln High, San Diego … three stars by 247Sports
and Rivals … caught 46 passes for 808 yards and eight touchdowns as senior.
RODRICK
TIALAVEA, offensive lineman, 6-5, 315, Highland High, West Valley City, Utah …
three stars by 247Sports … No. 10 prospect in Utah by 247.
::::::::::::::::::::
WSU Men’s
Basketball
SIGNING
DAY CENTRAL! Update of who's in for WSU and Mike Leach
By Braulio
Perez11, Cougfan.com
Jayden de
Laura (Photo: Twitter/USATodayHSS)
THE DAY
HAS arrived for Washington State prospects to go from verbals, to official
commits. With National Letters of Intent being sent in on Wednesday, Mike Leach
and Co. were expecting double-digit signatures to arrive in Pullman. So, who's
in? This is CF.C's rundown of the NSD festivities, updating each player's
status with the Cougs as the day goes on. It looked like the Cougs were done at
17, but then Nevada's all-time sacks leader sent in his letter of intent
Wednesday evening, bringing the total to 18 new Cougars.
SLIDE
1 of 18
DE Gabriel
Lopez -- **SIGNED
DE Gabriel
Lopez (Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
weight: 6-3, 227 pounds
High
school: Desert Pines in Las Vegas, Nevada
How does
Nevada's all-time sacks leader sound for Washington State football fans? That's
exactly what the Cougs are getting in defensive end Gabriel Lopez, who broke
the state's record early on during his senior season. Lopez went crimson
shortly after this official visit to the Palouse in mid-November. He had offers
from WSU, Minnesota, Fresno State, Colorado State, Fresno State and others.
SLIDE
2 of 18
DE
Marquise Freeman -- **SIGNED
DE
Marquise Freeman. (Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
weight: 6-3, 185 pounds
High
school: Cocoa in Cocoa, Fla. (45 minutes outside of Orlando)
This truly
was the NSD shocker for the Cougs, as Marquise Freeman's signature came in from
out of nowhere. Ranked the No. 61 weakside defensive end in the country, he
racked up 20 offers throughout his recruitment. He chose WSU over West
Virginia, Kentucky, Louisville, Pitt and many others.
SLIDE
3 of 18
QB Jayden
de Laura -- **SIGNED
QB Jayden
de Laura(Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
weight: 6-1, 190 pounds
High
school: Saint Louis in Honolulu, Hawaii
The
highest ranked member of the 2020 class for WSU, Jayden Jayden de Laura picked
the Cougs over additional offers from USC, Ohio State, BYU, Hawaii, Western
Kentucky and others. Both the Trojans and Buckeyes tried to make a late run at
the Hawaiian product, but de Laura locked in with his decision following a
recent official visit to the Palouse. He's received loads of accolades
following an impressive senior season, including being named a finalist for the
Polynesian Player of the Year Award, plus earning Gatorade Player of the Year
honors for Hawaii.
SLIDE
4 of 18
WR Joey
Hobert -- **SIGNED
WR Joey
Hobert and WSU assistant Dave Nichol. (Photo: Herbert Twitter)
Height and
weight: 5-11, 175 pounds
High
school: San Juan Hills in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (90 minutes outside of
L.A.)
Joey
Hobert, AKA Mr. Versatility, was downright electric during his senior season
for San Juan Hills. The new Coug caught 78 balls for 1,216 yards and 18
touchdowns. Oh, but he wasn't done there. He added one rushing score, two punt
return TDs, two interception returns for TDs, one fumble return TD and one
kickoff return TD for a total of 25 scores. He chose Wazzu over Hawaii, BYU,
Colorado State, San Diego State, UNLV + more schools. His dad, of course, is
Billy Joe Hobert, who played QB at UW for the Huskies.
SLIDE
5 of 18
S Jackson
Lataimua -- **SIGNED
Safety
Jackson Lataimua (Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
weight: 5-11, 195 pounds
High
school: Junipero Serra in San Bruno, Calif. (just outside of San Francisco)
Jackson
Lataimua was originally a Nevada commit, but a Pac-12 offer from the Washington
States coaches proved to be too much to turn down, as he flipped things to the
crimson side. Nevada and Wazzu were his two offers throughout his recruitment.
Assistant Darcel McBath ran the point on landing the safety from California.
SLIDE
6 of 18
WR Cedrick
Pellum -- **SIGNED
WR Cedrick
Pellum (Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
weight: 6-1, 185 pounds
High
school: James Madison in Dallas, Texas
Cedrick
Pellum had double-digit scholarship this cycle, with WSU, Houston, Indiana,
Kansas, Houston and many others putting a tender on the table. He picked the
crimson and gray in early July, though, with his prep coach Marcus Gates
telling CF.C the job Dave Nichol did recruiting him really helped WSU win out
in the recruiting battle.
“Coach
Nichol handled his recruitment,” Gates said. “I’ve spoken with him for years
now. We have a good relationship and we talk quite a bit. What I like about him
is his honesty. He does a great job of letting a kid know what to expect.
Washington State is far, but he says it’s a great place to be and that Cedric
will love it. Again, with Nichol, it’s his honesty. He’s a Texas guy as well
and that played big in Cedric’s mind.”
SLIDE
7 of 18
OT Rodrick
Tialavea -- **SIGNED
Mason
Miller and OT Rodrick Tialavea. (Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
weight: 6-5, 315 pounds
High
school: Highland in Salt Lake City, Utah
A
315-pound hoss? Yup, that's what Mason Miller has coming for him next season in
Rodrick Tialavea. The Utah product took his official visit to WSU earlier this
month and announced his verbal a couple days after returning home. He had
scholarships from WSU, Tennessee, Arizona, Utah State and Virginia. Miller,
seen fired up in the photo above, was the head man in charge of Tialavea's
recruitment.
SLIDE
8 of 18
OT Julian
Ripley -- **SIGNED
(Photo:
247Sports)
Height and
weight: 6-6, 245 pounds
High
school: Rancho Cucamonga in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Julian
Ripley was previously committed to San Diego State, but similar to Jackson
Lataimua, he flipped his commitment shortly after receiving his offer from the
Washington State coaching staff. Ripley is the No. 64 OT in the country. He
pledged to WSU following a memorable official visit on campus back in
September. Assistant Matt Brock served as his area recruiter.
SLIDE
9 of 18
OT James
McNorton **SIGNED
OT James
McNorton (Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
weight: 6-5, 265 pounds
High
school: Liberty in Brentwood, Calif. (90 minutes outside of Oakland)
Back in
early November, James McNorton took his official visit to WSU and didn't leave
campus without letting the Cougar coaches he was ready to join the family. The
6-5 offensive tackle picked Wazzu over Oregon State, Fresno State, San Jose
State, Wyoming and a few others. Right after he pledged, McNorton told CF.C:
"It was a natural reaction when I arrived in Pullman. I'm a huge fan of
Coach Miller and Coach Leach. They are great mentors and coaches. They are
right when they say, "We always find out way back home."
SLIDE
10 of 18
CB Justin
Anderson -- **SIGNED
CB Justin
Anderson. (Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
weight: 6-1, 175 pounds
High
school: Menlo-Atherton in Menlo, Calif. (hour outside of San Francisco)
Anderson
has long been a WSU target, landing his offer from the Cougs as a sophomore in
April of 2018. He took multiple unofficial visits to Pullman before committing
to the program on Nov. 18. Anderson has offers from Wazzu, Utah, Boston
College, Iowa State and Utah State.
SLIDE
11 of 18
LB Moon
Ashby -- **SIGNED
LB Moon
Ashby. (Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
weight: 6-4, 200 pounds
High
school: Valley Christian in San Jose, Calif.
Arguably
the best name to go crimson, Moon Ashby is ranked the No. 59 outside linebacker
in the land and No. 74 player from California. He chose WSU over Fresno State,
Kansas State, San Jose State and Utah State. Darcel McBath was Ashby's area
recruiter.
SLIDE
12 of 18
WR
Keyshawn Smith -- **SIGNED
WR
Keyshawn Smith. (Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
weight: 6-0, 165 pounds
High
school: Lincoln in San Diego, Calif.
Keyshawn
Smith was a part of the big group that tripped to WSU in early December for an
official visit, and he announced his commitment to the Cougs shortly after. A
stud out of San Diego, the 6-0 receiver hauled in 46 balls for 808 yards and
eight touchdowns this campaign. Boise State, Tennessee and many other schools
offered him, but Washington State was able to win him over during his time in
Pullman.
SLIDE
13 of 18
OT Devin
Kylany -- **SIGNED
(Photo:
247Sports)
Height and
weight: 6-4, 275 pounds
High
school: Lake Stevens in Lake Stevens, Wash.
Devin
Kylany was another prospect to shut down his recruitment pretty dang early,
announcing his verbal pledge to WSU and Mike Leach back in early April
following an unofficial visit. Kylany had offers from WSU, Arizona State and
Air Force. Kylany, ranked the No. 18 player from Washington for 2020, knew in
his heart he belonged in Pullman.
"The
environment (stood out)," he said after his commitment. "After
driving for 5-6 hours, out of nowhere pops out a little town with a big-time
college. The players and coaches do everything they can to get better every day
and it shows on the practice field. Also, just talking to the players made me
feel like I found a home for the next 4-5 years."
SLIDE
14 of 18
RB
Marshawn Buchanan -- **SIGNED
RB
Marshawn Buchanan. (Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
weight: 5-11, 175 pounds
High
school: Adelanto in Adelanto, Calif. (Two hours outside of L.A.)
Marshawn
Buchanan has been a touchdown machine for Adelanto High throughout his career.
This past season, per MaxPreps, he rushed for 15 touchdowns. Last year he
rushed for 18 scores. He had 12 offers to choose from, with WSU, Boise State,
Arizona, BYU and eight other programs fighting it out to land his signature.
Late in the game, Boise State tried to lure him away, even getting him to take
an official visit.
SLIDE
15 of 18
S Hunter
Escorcia -- **SIGNED
Safety
Hunter Escorcia. (Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
weight: 6-2, 175 pounds
High
school: Vista Murrieta in Murrieta, Calif. (hour outside of San Diego)
A
hard-hitting safety, Hunter Escorcia is the N0. 61 safety in the land and No.
78 player overall out of California. He was down to Utah and WSU, but picked
the Cougs on June 27. He's a multi-sport athlete for Vista Murrieta and put up
some tremendous track numbers last spring. He ran the 100-meter hurdles in
14.69 at the All-CIF Meet. He'll look to bring that blazing speed with him to
Pullman.
SLIDE
16 of 18
OG Dylan
Mayginnes -- **SIGNED
Dylan
Mayginnes and older brother Hunter Mayginner. (Photo: Dylan Mayginnes Twitter)
Height and
weight: 6-5, 285 pounds
High
school: Hamilton in Chandler, Ariz. (just outside of Phoenix)
Dylan
Mayginnes has decided to join his big bro up in Pullman, as Hunter Mayginnes is
already on campus as a Cougar hoss for Mason Miller. The younger Mayginnes is
ranked the No. 92 offensive guard in the country. WSU was his lone tender, but
he shut things down early on and made it clear to other teams out there he was
100% a Coug.
SLIDE
17 of 18
DE Justin
Lohrenz -- **SIGNED
DE Justin
Lohrenz (Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
Weight: 6-4, 230 pounds
High
school: Columbine in Littleton, Colo. (Just outside of Denver)
Justin
Lohrenz is the No. 21 prospect from Colorado for the 2020 class. He went
crimson over other offers from Air Force, Colorado State, Wyoming, New Mexico
and New Mexico State. He went crimson shortly after receiving his offer from
area recruiter Eric Mele, who Lohrenz said did a great job recruiting him from
start to finish.
"They
want me as an interior D-lineman, that can play both inside and outside and
that can come off the edge as well," Lohrenz said. "So, Coach Mele
told me that they plan on putting about 30 pounds on me. Coach Mele said he
loves my hands and how aggressive I am and also loves my ‘get after it’
mentality that I bring every play."
SLIDE
18 of 18
DT
Nathaniel James -- **SIGNED
DT
Nathaniel James (Photo: 247Sports)
Height and
weight: 6-0, 250 pounds
High
school: Avon in Avon, Ind. (Just outside of Indianapolis)
If you've
seen Nathaniel James' videos in the weight room, you already know the Cougs are
landing an absolute monster for the defensive line. The 6-0 defensive tackle
developed a strong bond with area recruiter and future position coach Jeff
Phelps. James was an early pledge to WSU in April and never wavered with his
decision. He had additional offers from Ball State, Bowling Green, Indiana,
Northern Illinois, Toledo and Tulane.
NOTABLE
NOTE: Former verbal commit Johnny Walker, a 6-3, 205-pounder out of Tampa, was
expected to sign with WSU but announced Wednesday afternoon he is opening his
recruitment back up.
:::::::::::::::::::::::
Commentary:
What to make of WSU signing just one in-stater
By Barry
Bolton Cougfan.comn
Cougfan C
Commentary
WASHINGTON
STATE FANS should be excited by Devin Kylany’s signing, but the Lake Stevens
offensive lineman is the...
(News for
CougGroup does not have access to entire article.)
:::::::::::::::::::::::
https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/high-school/more-opportunities-have-helped-washington-become-hotbed-for-high-school-girls-basketball-talent
High
School Sports
Here’s how Washington state became a hotbed for
high-school girls basketball talent
Dec. 16,
2019 at 6:00 am Updated Dec. 17, 2019 at 3:16 pm
By Sandy Ringer, Special to The Seattle Times,
The talent
level keeps rising, and it could be at an all-time high.
With
Cashmere’s Hailey Van Lith leading the way, there’s no doubting the quality of
high-school girls basketball players in Washington this season.
“It’s as
strong of a year as any,” said Chris Hansen, managing editor of
ProspectsNation.com.
He ranks
Van Lith, a senior guard who has signed with Louisville, at No. 2 in the nation
in the class of 2020, with three others in the top 40 — Garfield’s Dalayah
Daniels (California) at No. 26, Kentridge’s Jordyn Jenkins (USC) at No. 28 and
Meghan Fiso (Michigan), who transferred from West Seattle to Garfield this
year, at No. 40. Eastlake’s Keeli Burton-Oliver (Arizona State) sits at No. 90
to give the state five in the top 100.
Strong,
for sure — but stronger than ever? That’s up for debate.
“There are
several great players in our state, but I don’t think necessarily more than in
other years,” said Al Aldridge, who guided Prairie High School to 28 state
appearances and six state championships from 1980 through 2012. He has been a
longtime coordinator of the Washington senior all-star team that competes
against Oregon all-stars annually — a series the Washington team has dominated
over the past decade.
Lakeside
icon Sandy Schneider, who coached the Lions to five state crowns during her
long tenure, tends to agree.
“Michelle
Perkins, Takiyah Jackson, Tara Davis — those kids would all still be great today,”
she said, citing a trio of standouts from the 1990s.
But
Schneider agrees there is an ever-increasing amount of girls ahead of the
curve, with one primary impetus.
“They’re
going to be better because they play year-round, and they’re playing more games,”
said Schneider, a WIAA Hall of Fame member.
And many
of them play a lot, starting at younger ages.
Select/AAU
girls basketball appears to be at an all-time fervor. Mo Hines with
Seattle-based Tree of Hope — the Northwest’s only girls program with NIKE Elite
Youth Basketball League (EYBL) teams (U-16 and U-17) — coaches a group of
eighth-graders who played almost 90 games last year.
“It’s what
they love to do,” said Hines, who was an assistant coach for the Washington
State women for seven seasons. “But it’s not for everybody.”
It’s
definitely for the 5-foot-9 Van Lith, who is on pace to break Jennifer
Stinson’s career scoring record of 2,881 points set in 1995. Basketball is
clearly her passion — one she chose over softball after years of playing both at
an elite level. She played with Tree of Hope before making the USA Basketball
Women’s U17 National Team as a 16-year-old in 2018.
Van Lith
thrives on competition, according to her father, Corey, who has been her sole
trainer, and is willing to do whatever it takes to attain her lofty goals —
which she says include winning multiple NCAA championships, becoming a
first-round WNBA pick and winning an Olympic gold medal.
So, if
that means extensive travel, time away from family, friends and school (enough
so that the 4.0 student opted for online courses this year), no problem.
“You can’t
have the best of both worlds,” Hailey said. “Sacrifices have to be made to be
great at a sport.”
Michelle
Augustavo-Fisher, an assistant coach at the University of Washington who is an
integral part of the recruiting process, says willingness to sacrifice is among
several keys to what she considers an increase in talent level in the state.
“I think
girls are more committed to the sport,” she said, adding most, if not all,
top-tier players train with someone outside of their high-school program.
Augustavo-Fisher,
who starred at Blanchet in the early 2000s and played at San Diego and UW, also
cited the high level of high-school and AAU coaches — many of whom played and
even coached at the collegiate level — as a factor, in addition to the
abundance of camps available for girls.
“There are
more opportunities for girls to play,” she said.
Dan
Taylor, girls basketball coach at King’s High School and president of the
Washington State Girls Basketball Coaches’ Association, estimates the number of
AAU teams and tournaments have quadrupled over the past dozen years.
“We have
many opportunities for girls to not only train their individual basketball
skills, but to work on their functional movements through speed, strength and
explosion training,” he said, “access that many girls in the past didn’t have.”
Not just
senior class
NCAA
Division I coaches have found a bevy of 2020 talent in Washington, not just
those in the top-40 rankings. Jayda Noble from Mount Spokane has signed with
Washington. University High of Spokane Valley has a trio of signees in Ellie
Boni (Colorado State) and twins Tyler and Jacksen McCliment-Call (both
University of Portland). The list goes on.
If not for
an injury, Mount Si’s 6-8 Sela Heide likely would have a scholarship (she could
be back in January) and should land one this spring.
The class
of 2021 is headed by Talia Von Oelhoffen, who transferred from Tri-Cities Prep
to Chiawana of Pasco this season and is ranked No. 10 in the HoopGurlz
Recruiting Rankings.
“I would
say there are at least 20 legitimate Division I players in the state of
Washington,” said Steve Klees with the select Northwest Blazers program, noting
Von Oelhoffen is the best high-school player he has seen in the Northwest in 40
years of coaching.
There are
talented sophomores (Jada Wynn at King’s, daughter of UW coaches Jody and Derek
Wynn, made the cut of 68 in the U-16 USA trials) and freshmen as well, and
Hines said to keep an eye out for Katie Fiso (Meghan’s sister), getting notice
as an eighth-grader.
Dan Olson,
who founded the Collegiate Girls Scouting Report in 2007 and compiles the
HoopGurlz rankings, calls the girls basketball in Washington much like it is on
the national side, feast or famine.
“You’ve
got some extremely talented players in that area of the country, and I want to
say it’s to the point that it may even get overlooked to a certain extent,” he
said, noting they would likely get more notoriety in Texas or California.
Freddie
Rehkow, who coached Central Valley of Spokane Valley to a national title in
2018, is taking a wait-and-see attitude. While he agrees there is a lot of
talent, he said he wouldn’t necessarily rate these recruits ahead of last
year’s, or the 2007 class led by University’s Angie Bjorklund (who played at
Tennessee and in the WNBA) and Kentwood’s Courtney Vandersloot (Gonzaga,
currently with Chicago Sky).
“These
kids will have to perform at the next level before I think we can label them
one of the best,” Rehkow said. “Can they be? Absolutely! There is some major
talent in Washington and this is definitely a talented class.”
#
