Class of 2018 Commitment Catchup
Photo Credit: Tanner Russ, Wilsonville Spokesman
As we enter into the summer, more members of the Class of 2018 are making decisions on their college futures.
Caleb Larsen, a scrappy 5-foot-10 point guard from Wilsonville, recently signed with Concordia (Ore.). The connection between him and the Cavaliers was made through assistant coaches at both programs, which led to him going to a number of open gyms at the school. The coaches at Concordia liked what they saw and gave him an offer. After making a visit to campus, Larson knew where his college future lay.
“I really like how welcoming the coaches are with me and I enjoyed playing with the players there too,” Larsen said. “I definitely need to get bigger and stronger and I’ll need to continue working on everything to help myself to play at that level.”
Also making a decision at the Division II level is state 6A First Team honoree Alexis Angeles. The high-scoring 6-foot-2 guard recently took an official visit to St. Martin’s and signed with the Saints not long afterward.
A third player moving on to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference is former Oregon prep KJ Bosco who recently signed with Western Washington. The Portland native (2014 Benson HS) initially went to Eastern Oregon and redshirted before coming back home to play two seasons at Portland CC, where he was a big part of the Panthers NWAC Final Four team in 2017-18, averaging 12.5 points and 6.2 rebounds.
“They had been interested in him since last year and were really close to signing him then,” said Portland CC head coach Tony Broadous. “They brought him in for a visit and he said that he wanted to sign with them. For him and the way that they play, it’s a no-brainer.”
Moving onto the NAIA level is Rasheed Butler. The 6-foot-2 Lincoln High graduate will be playing college ball at the University of Providence in Great Falls, Montana for head coach Steve Keller who actually coached Butler’s mother in high school in Montana. Overall it was the best fit for him off and on the basketball floor.
“I had my mind set on Montana because my Grandma (is there) and I wanted to be there to play in front of her,” Butler said. “Also they are a team that runs the best offense for a combo guard which is a position I consider myself to be. And the coaches were super straight forward – we clicked as soon as we talked on the phone.”
A final signing to note – another former Oregon prep – Matt O’Brien (2017 Clackamas) – will be coming back home. After spending his freshman year at Simon Fraser, where he appeared in eight games averaging 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds, the 6-foot-9 forward will be playing next season at Clackamas CC.