aaron signs with wyoming

socalogo.gif (8739 bytes)
SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Aaron Abrams Spurns San Jose,
Signs With Wyoming--(April 14, 1999)

Proving that a verbal commitment is only as good as the paper it's written on, Aaron Abrams (6'-4" Sr. SG) from Rancho Buena Vista, in San Diego, changed his mind and instead of signing with San Jose, elected to sign a National Letter of Intent with the University of Wyoming. We actually got word of this last night before it hit the papers, and before it was officially announced, but were a bit reluctant to publish it until we could get confirmation either from Aaron himself, or from Wyoming.

Today Wyoming head basketball coach Steve McClain issued a press release, announcing the signing, which means that the school has now actually received the signed letter. Under NCAA rules, a school can't make any comment until they've received the NLOI, and in this case, it's clear now that Aaron will be a Cowboy next fall.

Aaron was named CIF-San Diego Section Player of the Year, and was named Third Team All-State by California HI Sports. He averaged 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game his senior season and will also play in the San Diego County All-Star Game and the adidas Double Pump All-Star Classic on April 24.

According to the press release, McClain said: "We're very excited to have Aaron Abrams join our program. He's the kind of player, athletically, that I've been talking about. I saw Aaron play last summer, and told my staff that this was a kid we wanted to go after. Aaron reminds me a lot of Anthony Blakes in the way he goes after rebounds and loose balls. It came down to Fresno State, San Jose State and us, in terms of where Aaron was going to sign. I think our style of play, combined with the type of schedule we play and our new league, were all factors in Aaron's decision to come here. I also give my staff and our current players a lot of credit for the hard work they put in during recruiting. When Aaron came on his visit, I think our players really made him feel like he belonged here."

Abrams was also honored as the Palomar League Player of the Year, North County Times Player of the Year, and was a McDonalds All-America nominee. Abrams will join fellow SoCal player Chris McMillian (5'-10" Fr. PG) who led Brea-Olinda a year ago and who this past season at Wyoming averaged about 12 points a game, but had a couple of very impressive performances, including a couple of 20+ games this season. Wyoming has also signed Marc Bailey (6'-4" Sr. SG) of Cheyenne, Wyo., to a national letter of intent. Bailey led Cheyenne East High School to a 22-3 record and a third-place finish in the 1999 Wyoming State Tournament. Cheyenne East also posted a perfect 10-0 conference record in '99, and he's an excellent shooter and defender.

Congratulations to Aaron and Wyoming on the signing, and our condolences to San Jose and their coaching staff who worked pretty hard but in the end just couldn't close the deal.