UH signs JC shooting guard
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Recruiting may be 80 percent complete for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team, but head coach Riley Wallace is 100 percent sure that it is already a successful class.
The latest recruit, 6-foot-4 shooting guard Jake Sottos, signed a letter of intent yesterday to play for the Rainbow Warriors. He will bring with him record-breaking shooting ability and national championship experience.
"Everything about Hawai'i is right for me," Sottos said. "I'm going to have a blast out there."
Sottos is coming off a blast of a season at Southeastern (Iowa) Community College. He averaged a team-leading 16.6 points per game and set a school-record with 127 3-pointers last season. He was the captain of a Blackhawk team that finished 37-1 and won the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) championship.
"He played on the toughest level of competition there is in junior college and led them to a national championship," Wallace said. "I have no doubts about this guy. He can shoot it from deep, so he fits right in with our system."
Sottos, who shoots left-handed, will have two seasons of eligibility. UH associate coach Jackson Wheeler described Sottos as "a steal" of a recruit.
"All you have to do is look at his numbers and realize that his team was 37-1," said Wheeler, who watched Sottos at the NJCAA tournament. "He's a tremendous shooter. It's actually surprising that he was still available."
Sottos made his recruiting visit to UH last week and said he knew immediately that he wanted to play for the 'Bows.
"I had never been to Hawai'i before, but everything about that place made me feel comfortable," said Sottos, who is originally from Monmouth, Ill.
The only other recruiting visit he made this year was to Eastern Michigan.
"He's the kind of player who gets overlooked, maybe because there are other players around him who are more athletic," Southeastern head coach Joe O'Brien said. "You don't notice him until you look at the boxscore and see he's the leading scorer."
Sottos was talented enough to play two sports in both high school and junior college, although his second sport is somewhat of a surprise.
He plays with a 7 handicap and participated in the NJCAA golf championship tournament last year. He said he is still not sure if he will try to walk on to the UH golf team.
"Basketball comes first," he said.
Sottos is the fourth recruit to sign with the 'Bows. The other three also come from winning programs:
Jeff Blackett, a 6-8 forward, averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds last season for Salt Lake (Utah) Community College. The Bruins finished 21-11 in the Scenic West Athletic Conference, which is considered one of the top junior college conferences.
"Of the players we signed, he might be the one most ready to play right now," Wallace said. "He can shoot it out to 15 feet, but he can also post up and dunk. He'll help us in a lot of ways."
Logan Lee, a 6-2 point guard, averaged 9.9 points and 4.9 assists and was selected the Most Valuable Player for South Plains (Texas) College.
The Texans finished 31-4 and advanced to the NJCAA championship tournament. Van Coleman, publisher of FutureStars Magazine, described Lee in one of his reports as "the best passer in Hutchinson (Kansas, site of the 16-team NJCAA tournament)."
"He's a true point guard and he can shoot the 3," Wallace said. "And the best thing is he'll only be a sophomore."
Bobby Nash, a 6-6 wing player, averaged a team-high 14.5 points per game for state champion Iolani School.
His father, Bob Nash, holds many of UH's rebounding records and is the associate coach for the 'Bows.
"He's still young and growing," Wallace said. "But I have a feeling nobody will play harder than he will once practice starts."
The 'Bows have one more scholarship available, but do not necessarily have to use it this year.
"If we do use it, it would have to be on a very good player," Wallace said. "We're fine with what we have now, but if we can get somebody else who can help us, then we'll take him."
If the 'Bows do not sign a fifth recruit, the scholarship will carry to next year. The last day to sign recruits to a binding national letter of intent is Thursday. Recruits can still sign after Thursday, but those letters would not be binding.
Two junior college players who visited UH last month signed with other schools. Tim Henry, a 6-5 shooting guard at Salt Lake CC, signed with Wyoming; Ryan Thompson, a 6-6 small forward at Western Nebraska Community College, signed with Connecticut.
