Two prep stars commit to Zags

Gonzaga University’s men’s basketball team, coming off a 29-4 season that included another trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, continues to reap recruiting benefits from its rise to one of the elite national programs.

Two high school standouts, including one who just completed his freshman year, have made oral commitments to join the Bulldogs program.

Brock Osweiler, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound sophomore-to-be at Flathead High School in Kalispell, Mont., and Austin Daye, a 6-9, 180-pound forward who just completed his junior year at Woodbridge High in Irvine, Calif., have both announced they plan to eventually sign national letters of intent with the Zags.

Osweiler, the youngest prospect to commit to Gonzaga, averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists as a freshman at Flathead last winter and was named to Montana’s Class AA first-team all-state team.

Osweiler led the Braves to a 16-9 overall record and a fourth-place finish in the state tournament. He attended several GU games last season and orally committed to the Bulldogs after receiving a scholarship offer earlier this week.

“It’s just three hours away from home, my family can go and watch me almost anytime they want and their program is definitely one of the top two in the western United States,” Osweiler said.

Osweiler was used primarily as a low post player as a freshman at Flathead, but said he sees himself playing the small forward position for the Zags.

“They haven’t said exactly what they want me to improve on,” he said of the GU coaches, “but I’m working a lot on my perimeter shot right now.”

Daye, who averaged 17 points a game for Woodbridge last winter, made his oral commitment to GU last month, primarily on the advice of his father Darren Daye, who played at UCLA.

“I thought the positives about Gonzaga far outweighed the negatives – the main one being that it’s a long way from Southern California,” said Daye’s dad.

“I know Gonzaga’s a very good university and the small classes were something I really liked. I know Coach (Mark) Few, and having him there was important, too. The coaching staff is very, very good, and they’ve got a team there that can potentially play in the NCAA tournament every year.”

He had been heavily recruiting by several Pacific-10 Conference schools, but had narrowed his choices to Arizona State, Southern California and GU, his father said.

Daye – who hails from the same high school attended by GU’s David Burgess, a 6-11 sophomore transfer from BYU – joins Bainbridge Island guard Steven Gray and 6-11 center Robert Sacre, from Vancouver, B.C., as prep standouts who have committed to GU as juniors. All three are expected to enroll in the fall of 2007.

Osweiler won’t be able to sign his letter of intent until November of 2008 and will enroll at GU in the fall of 2009.