College Commitment: Sam Abere (2020 Lake Oswego HS)
Sam Abere went into Thanksgiving break certainly thankful for a lot of things. One of those things likely was the fact the tough 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard knew where he was going to be playing his college basketball. After going through all of his options and making some visits, Abere made the decision to continue his basketball career in the Pacific Northwest and it will be at Whitman College.
“Whitman was the first school to reach out to me,” Abere said. “I got to see the campus and team, and I really enjoyed it. Coach (Eric) Bridgeland and his staff are awesome and their energy and passion for the program stood out to me from the beginning. I got to know some of the guys on the team and everyone was extremely friendly. Whitman is also a strong academic school and that’s something I valued highly when looking at colleges.”
While Whitman had been high on his list from the start – former Lake Oswego Laker Cory Coombe is on the coaching staff and that certainly was a connection – Abere wanted to do his due dilligence and also took trips to Occidental and Chapman before coming to a conclusion.
“After those (visits) I took a few days to reflect on what each school had to offer and what I wanted to get out of my college experience,” Abere said. “Whitman just felt like a better fit for me, and I already felt Whitman had the type of culture I wanted to be apart of.”
With his college choice all done with, Abere can now turn his focus on his senior season, one in which he’s seeking to improve individually from a skill standpoint but also enjoy his last year of high school basketball. ” I just want to continue to improve my offensive game and my hopes are we can have another winning season,” Abere said. “I don’t want to jinx anthing or say something too forward but I have a lot of trust in this group and I’m excited for this season!”
Abere currently ranks as the #58 player in the PrepHoops Oregon Class of 2020 rankings.