College Commitments: Wildcats Grab a Pair
For Reece Gibb, it came down to family. For Carson Bonine, it was the opportunity to keep on playing. What’s the same for the 6-foot-3 wing from Mark Morris and the 6-foot-2 point from Camas is that they are heading on to play their college basketball at the Division III level, and both will be doing so at the same place south of the Columbia River in Oregon.
This spring, Gibb and Bonine both committed to play hoops at Linfield. Gibb made the decision first, committing to joining the Wildcats back in late February. The chance to join and play with his older brother Grant Gibb – currently a junior on the team – was a major factor, but there were other aspects to the program that Reece Gibb also liked.
“Their coaching staff is awesome, and they just play a great brand of basketball and I could see myself fitting in there,” Gibb said. “I’ve been told a lot that I’m very similar to my brother – we’re good outside shooters, tall, long – and that’s where I hope to use my skills as a shooter, getting rebounds, and hopefully blocking some shots.”
While Gibb had his eyes on college hoops for quite some time, basketball at the next level wasn’t necessarily a sure thing for Bonine after hanging up his uniform at Camas. In fact, the point guard was all set to simply attend school at Boise State but the opportunity came up for him to continue his playing career at Linfield and he decided to go for it, commtting to the Wildcats during a visit last Friday.
“I wasn’t originally planning on playing (college basketball) but after the season I missed it and I started to reach out to coaches more,” Bonine said. “I love the campus and on my visit I played and hung out with the guys and they’re great down there. They have a nice culture that’s already established and the coaches are great guys for basketball and life – they know what they want down there and I like that.”
“It’s close to home – it’s only an hour-and-a-half away – and their business program is good and the academics are great,” he continued. “They’ve had a nice culture in sports for a very long time and it’s going to be fun to be part of that.”
Bonine will come in and compete for point guard minutes left by graduating senior Riley Bruil. Gibb and Bonine are the first two commitments in Linfield’s recruiting class of 2019.