St. Ignatius' Trevor Dunbar made it official on Thursday, signing with Washington State at McCullough Gym. | P2P staff |
SAN FRANCISCO -- Trevor Dunbar put it all to rest Thursday.
In front of family, teammates, past coaches, and members of the St. Ignatius administration including the principal and athletic director, Dunbar signed to play basketball at Washington State.
Despite concluding his final year with the St. Ignatius basketball team in March as a three-year varsity starter; a winner of both the 2014 Prep2Prep CCS and WCAL Player of the Year awards; averaging 22 points, five assists, and four rebounds per game; as of National Signing Day, Dunbar hadn’t yet found an offer enticing enough to accept.
The talented point guard had received interest from schools such as Cal Poly, Loyola Marymount, and Florida A&M, but it was his most recent offer, from Washington State University, that closed the book on Dunbar’s lengthy recruitment process.
When asked if it was frustrating to see his star player go under-recruited, Wildcats coach Tim Reardon said “Absolutely. I spoke to probably 100 coaches about [Trevor], but credit to him, the offers he got just weren’t the right ones for him. He ended up playing his cards right and not committing to anything.”
On June 1, the day following his high school graduation, he received an offer from coach Ernie Kent and the Cougars, giving Dunbar his first scholarship from a power-conference school.
“It’s kind of crazy because [Washington State] was recruiting me this time last year, but after I visited with another point guard, they ended up offering him instead,” Dunbar said.
That scholarship offer was put back on the table after another guard de-committed, freeing up a spot for Dunbar in Kent’s maiden recruiting class.
“[Coach Kent] has had a lot off success with small guards such as Aaron Brooks (currently with the Denver Nuggets),” Dunbar said. “That really sold me because as well as making me a better player, I know he appreciates my game.”
Said Reardon: “I’d have to say he had more effect on the game than anyone I’ve ever coached. His senior year] was definitely the best of anyone I’ve ever coached. For most of the season, at times it seemed as if no one could guard him.”
When asked how his offense will look without the flashy guard, Reardon chuckled.
“It’s definitely going to be a different style,” he said. “A lot more passing, less one on one. With Trevor, we had to play that way to fit into what he brought to the court.”
The signing was a fitting moment to close out Dunbar’s time at SI. As next year’s varsity team showed up to the gym for practice, the star point guard headed out of the gymnasium -- one of the most decorated basketball players to ever graduate from St. Ignatius.
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