Player Profile: Kelton Samore 6’8 Forward (2018/Grant HS/Portland Basketball Club)

After Kamaka Hepa and Payton Pritchard, no Oregon player in the past three seasons has had more D1 offers than 2018 forward Kelton Samore from Grant High School and Portland Basketball Club.  Samore however has flown somewhat under the radar of basketball fans in the northwest, but that is likely to change by the end of the 2018 season if the Generals have the kind of season they are expecting and the highly skilled 6'8 big man lives up to his expectations.  We caught up with Samore to talke about Grant's run to the state tourney, his experience on the Nike EYBL circuit, and what is the latest with his college recruitment. "It was nice for us to win a game at the state tourney and really get a feel for what it will be like next year.  We have almost our entire team returning plus we've added a couple of nice pieces and we feel like we can really compete for a state title in 2018."  Samore earned first team all PIL honors last season while averaging right at 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game.  Him along with 2019 guards Ty Rankin and Aaron Deloney form one of the most talented trios in the state. As his basketball focus shifted to the Portland Basketball Club and the ultra tough Nike EYBL circuit, Samore said it was about what he expected going in. "Nothing really surprised me, by far the best competition in the nation with every team having great players and being a tough challenge."  "It really made us focus if we wanted to hold our own against those kind of teams."  Samore has garnered quite a bit of recruiting interest dating back to last summer and his play this spring only added to it.  So far he has offers from Boise State, Montana State, Colgate, Air Force, San Francisco, University of Portland, UC Davis, and Utah State.  He's also hearing regularly from Hawaii, Washington State, Stanford, Oregon State, and several Ivy league schools.  As for narrowing his list or setting up visits, Samore had this to say, "I've been on unofficial visits to Oregon, Oregon State, and Stanford (3 times).  I'm going to wait until early September to set up my five official visits and narrow my choices a little bit."  When asked what was going to be the key factors in making a decision, he replied, "the biggest things are the relationship with coaches, the location of the school, and academics.  I'm hoping to study either business or medicine, so my college choice needs to have strong programs in those areas."  Samore currently possesses a 3.9 gpa and is fluent in Spanish, so it's obvious that he can handle the academic piece of being a student athlete in college. When asked to evaluate his own strengths and weaknesses, Samore had this take: "I feel like I'm a pretty versatile offensive player who can score and stretch the floor with my perimeter shooting ability.  I also like to pass and do what I can to help make my teammates better.  I'm always trying to improve my athleticism and work on playing inside against bigger players." Prep Hoops Oregon Evaluation: Kelton Samore is a highly skilled forward who is currently ranked #4 in the state of Oregon in our 2018 class rankings.  He is the consummate "stretch 4", with the ability to shoot to 22 feet.  He also has a good feel for the pick and roll game.  He is a good and willing passer, maybe even a little too unselfish at times.  Biggest question at the D1 level is who does he guard?  Must continue to develop physically to answer those questions.  If he can continue to improve as a defender, he has a high ceiling based on his height and skill set.