Recruiting Update: Zack Paulsen (2019 Curtis HS)
Portland State Elite Camp attracted some of the best in the state of Oregon, but a number of talented players from outside the Beaver State also participated. Consider Zack Paulsen one of those talented players. The hard-working 6-foot-4, 180-pound wing from Curtis High School came down I-5 to participate and it was time well spent.
“It was a great experience, everyone here was pretty much some of the best players in the Pacific Northwest,” Paulsen said. “It definitely brings out the best in the people who want to be here and it was good competition.”
Paulsen impressed at PSU’s brand new Viking Pavilion with his scoring abilty and all-around game. The camp comes off the heels of a good final month of the AAU season with Washington Supreme. “July went very well,” Paulsen said. “We went to the UAA finals, which was a goal of mine, and we lost to the champs DC Premier by four. I played well – I think I averaged about 13 points a game. I shot well, shooting over 50 percent from three.”
College programs were definitely paying attention to Paulsen’s performance. Since the UAA finals, the scholarship offers have started to roll in. He’s picked up three Division II offers (Central Washington, Point Loma Nazarene, and Seattle Pacific), one NAIA offer (Vanguard), and his first Division I offer – Binghamton in New York. Other schools such as Northwest Nazarene and Western Oregon are still in contact.
With all that action, Paulsen has started to formulate a plan to whittle things down. “In September I plan on going to Point Loma and New York (Binghamton) and see how they are,” Paulsen said. “I’m definitely looking at location and how it would work for me to play there, how the situation would go for me with basketball.”
Paulsen’s noted that his list of schools isn’t set in stone and that he’s still open to others jumping in. He also indicated that signing early isn’t necessarily a priority either.