Beavers land four-star PG
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It's possible that it was just destined for four-star point guard JaQuori McLaughlin to end up at Oregon State. Likely, it was the hard work put in by Wayne Tinkle and his staff.
Regardless of which theory you subscribe to, the Beavers scored a huge commitment on Friday when the nation's No. 69 player picked Oregon State.
A 6-foot-3 floor general from Gig Harbor (Wash.) Penninsula, McLaughlin actually committed to the Beavers as a sophomore. Then he opened things up when Craig Robinson was let go, committed to Washington, but backed off of his Washington pledge and ultimately ended up back where he started.
According to McLaughlin, Tinkle's persistence played a huge part of that.
"Coach Tinkle was always up front me and helped me and critiqued me," McLaughlin said. "He was always at my games and I always saw him in the stands. He's always been a big supporter of me, even when I decommitted the first time and even when I committed to Washington. I really trust him."
With great size for the position, McLaughlin is a versatile point guard. He can be a primary scorer with the ball in his hands, he can play set-up guy and he's also a potentially great defender. He needs to add strength, but McLaughlin is also a very good athlete and actually tested out with the highest vertical jump (39 inch max) of anybody during July's Under Armour All-America camp Powered by Rivals.com.
"I see myself coming in and as a freshman you have to learn lot of stuff," said McLaughlin. "I think I can be an impact guy and lead guys and my goal is to help win a Pac-12 championship and try to get to a Final Four."
At peace and firm in his commitment, McLaughlin will sign during the early period. Corvallis is only about three and a half hours from home, but McLaughlin said that the distance didn't play that big of a role and was just a nice bonus to picking OSU.
The second member of the Beavers recruiting class, McLaughlin joins three-star power forward Ben Kone and he's relieved that his eventful recruitment is over.
"It feel goods to pick the right school where I fell I will fit in with the coaching staff and the environment," said McLaughlin. "My senior year I want to focus on getting stronger and being a better leader vocally. I want to be a more consistent shooter and work on all aspects of my game."
I've made the decision to commit to Oregon State University #GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/TSOLosumm8— JaQuori McLaughlin (@Jroc_0) September 25, 2015
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