Iolani's Derrick Low verbally commits to Washington State

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Iolani senior Derrick Low, the most highly recruited basketball player in Hawai'i high school history, made a verbal commitment today to play for Washington State University beginning in the 2004-05 season.

Low notified Hawai'i coach Riley Wallace, Gonzaga's Mark Few and Utah's Rick Majerus of his decision late today afternoon after making the commitment via telephone to Washington State coach Dick Bennett.

Low, a 6-foot-1 point guard, earlier was being recruited by such powerhouses as Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and Oklahoma State, among others.

But Low said last night that he eventually only had four scholarship offers on the table: Washington State, Utah, Gonzaga and UH.

After returning last week from a tournament in Las Vegas, Low decided on Washington State, a program that went 31-79 over the past four seasons, including a 9-63 mark in the Pac-10 Conference. However, that record was compiled by former coach Paul Graham, who was fired in March.

Dick Bennett, a widely respected coach who guided Wisconsin to the Final Four in 2000 and has 453 career victories, took over for Graham and has told Low he plans to use Low as a foundation for the program.

"From the first time I talked to them (in March), all the coaches were so sincere," Low said. "After getting a lot of phone calls and talking to a lot of coaches, you kinda get a feel for who is sincere."

Last month, assistant coach Tony Bennett (Dick's son) arrived in Honolulu one afternoon just to watch Low play in an NCAA Summer League game, then flew back to the Mainland the same night.

Low is a three-time Interscholastic League of Honolulu Player of the Year and two-time Advertiser State Player of the Year.

He was the ILH scoring champion as a freshman.

Last season, Low was a unanimous choice for the All-State Player of the Year, leading Iolani to a 17-0 record and its second straight state championship.

He averaged 12.9 points a game in the regular season and 16.7 in the state tournament.