WCC Recruiting Update

Before I start to talk about the important stuff, I would just like to say it’s good to be back!

I had to step away from West Coast Convo due to some happenings in my personal life. In that period I stepped down as the editor to focus on some other aspects of life.

West Coast Convo has found a new editor, the great Mark Kramer, who was a staff writer for WCConvo during my tenure as editor, and we are back to provide readers the best West Coast Conference coverage on the Web.

During my absence from West Coast Convo, there was some big WCC recruiting news. Below is a brief breakdown of some of the events. Enjoy folks!

Matisse Thybulle Spurns GU, Others to Stay Close to Home

Matisse Thybulle, a four-star small forward prospect (according to Scout.com) from Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish, Washington, was courted heavily by several schools on the west coast. Thybulle, who was considering California, Washington, Oregon and Gonzaga at one point, eventually narrowed his list to the interstate rivals GU and UW.

Thybulle ended his recruitment on Sept. 29, committing to the Huskies over the Bulldogs. Thybulle held an offer from Portland along with one from GU.

It was evident based on statements from Thybulle that UW’s reputation for putting wings in the NBA was a huge factor in his decision. In addition to that, Thybulle said that the WCC was a detriment to the Zags, so that’s something:

"“There’s nothing that I found that would be a knock against (Gonzaga) or made me not want to go there,” Thybulle said. “Well, actually I take that back. The one thing that I would say I didn’t like about Gonzaga was the WCC (West Coast Conference)– Matisse Thybulle to the Seattle Times."

Mandrell Worthy Commits to Montana State

Mandrell Worthy, a teammate of Thybulle at Eastside Catholic, committed to Montana State, just a day after his teammate.

The 6-foot-2 point guard said that Saint Mary’s was being courted by the Saint Mary’s Gaels relatively tough in this interview West Coast Convo conducted with him in Aug., but presumably interest cooled between the two parties and Worthy decided to become a Bobcat.

Stefan Gonzalez Commits to the Gaels

The Gaels were shopping for a point guard in the 2015 class, and it looks as if they found their guy. Stefan Gonzalez, a 6-foot-2 point guard from Pocatello, Idaho, pledged to Randy Bennett and Saint Mary’s on Sept. 24, making him SMC’s third commit for 2015.

Gonzalez is not the most athletic guard, but uses his basketball IQ and acumen to his advantage to blow by defenders to score and pass out to open players. This described sill set makes him an ideal fit for the conference. He even agrees himself:

"“I’ve always felt like that was the right conference for me, for my kind of playing style,” Gonzalez said. “A lot of great kids come out of the WCC. A lot of great guards, great posts and just seeing them in the past years I’ve always felt like it was the best fit for me conference-wise.”– Stefan Gonzalez to the Idaho State Journal"

According to the same story, Gonzalez said he considered Oregon State, Eastern Washington, UC Davis and Montana prior to ending his recruitment with a verbal commitment to the Gaels.

Two Texans Commit to Santa Clara

Tony Lewis, a 6-foot-9 center from San Antonio, Texas, and Bryson Lockley, a 6-foot-6 small forward from Houston, Texas, committed to Santa Clara in the past few days, making them the schools second and third commits for the 2015 recruiting class.

Lewis is a big time commitment for Kerry Keating and his staff, as Lewis held offers from Texas A&M, Boise State, Houston, Creighton and Kansas State. Lockley is more of an under-the-radar prospect, but it has been mentioned that he is still growing, making him a solid candidate to become a combo-forward in the future.

Both players possess good size and should bolster the team’s frontcourt moving forward.

Adom Jacko Commits to LMU

LMU landed junior college product Adom Jacko, a 6-foot-8 power forward from Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Jacko played his high school ball at Alta Loma High School in Rancho Cucamonga, and decided to go the Junior College route, receive his AA and receive more college interest before making his way up to the Division I ranks.

Allegedly, St. Johns was interested in the bouncy four man. This story from the NY Post confirms this.

Other Commits

There were a few other recruits that picked schools outside of the WCC, despite holding WCC offers and interest, and they are listed below.

Robert Franks – Washington State (Offers; Portland: Interest; Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga, San Francisco)

Noah Blackwell – Long Beach State (Offers; Saint Mary’s, Loyola Marymount, Pacific)

Nate Grimes – Fresno State (Offers; San Francisco: Interest; Gonzaga)

Paul Thomas – UTEP (Offers; Santa Clara).

Michael Oguine – Montana (Offers; Santa Clara, Portland: Interest; San Francisco)