Gassers Washington Commitment
One of the few available quality big men left on the West Coast was recently
snapped up when Hans Gasser, a developing 6-10, 230 pound post from Issaquah
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(WA) HS verbally committed to Washington.
Gasser, who had an offer from Eastern Washington in the fall, did not sign,
instead hoping to catch the attention of a Pac-10 school with a good senior
season. And after averaging 21.0 points and 9.2 rebounds, leading Issaquah to
the state championship game - where Gasser scored 28 points and pulled down 11
rebounds - schools such as Washington, Southern Cal, and Stanford started
calling. But after he made his first visit to Washington, it cemented a
decision for him.
"After the season I started talking to Coach Romar more and more," said Gasser.
"I felt like I fit in good with the program. I really like Coach Romar and
the rest of the staff, so I thought it was a good fit.
Gasser recently played for the Washington All-Stars in the Northwest Shootout,
where he performed well, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds in 20
minutes. In the game, he showed why his reputation is as a versatile big man
with the ability to step out and hit the perimeter shot.
"Right now shooting is my biggest strength," he said. "I need to work on
getting bigger and going inside more and being more of a force inside." Gasser
also noted that he would like to become a more dominant rebounder.
While Gasser has put on more than 30 pounds to his frame since his junior year,
he could still stand to build more strength. He feels that he will spend most
of his time playing power forward at Washington. Redshirting could be a
possibility for Gasser, as it will depend on how he does on campus during the
summer. But if he does play as a true freshman, Gasser has no real
expectations with regards to playing time.
"Just come in and help whenever I can," he said.
Gasser is a fantastic student who sports a 3.8 GPA and a 1290 SAT score. While
he hasn't figured out yet what he will major in at Washington, Gasser does know
that he is extremely excited about joining the program Romar and his staff are
building at "Udub" - the local name for the University of Washington.
"They've got a lot of young talent, so they're going to be pretty good the next
two years," he said. "That's another thing that helped me in my decision."
Jed Tai ia a senior writer for Hoopville.com.