Kingma hopes to show other abilities

Brett Kingma is out to prove this spring and summer that he can do much more than put the ball in the basket - which isn't a bad thing to do - but the Mill Creek (Wash.) Jackson point guard wants to show colleges he can run a team and be a leader.

Kingma hopes by doing that with his Friends of Hoop AAU team that more Pac-10 schools and others will get involved.

"I'm just looking to show I've taken my game to the next level so that all these high-major schools will come on and I can use that when I'm talking to other schools," Kingma said. "I'm just trying to show schools I'm more than just a shooter and I can lead a team and win games. I'll probably take all my five visits and sit down at the end of September and decide.

"It's a lot different with high school because you're playing with good players but you're not playing with the top talent in your area or in your state so in high school I feel like I have to take more of a scoring load and take some shots that are questionable but that's just because we don't have the other people.

"This summer I'll shoot a really high percentage because I'll be playing with other really good guards, really good big guys that will take a lot of the attention off double- and triple teams and box-and-ones so I'll get better and be able to set my feet a lot more."

BYU, Gonzaga, Eastern Washington, Portland, Portland State and St. Anselm have offered Kingma, who said Harvard is recruiting him much harder and that Washington, Washington State, Oregon State and Stanford are showing more interest. Kingma, a 6-foot-1 point guard, said BYU is involved the most.

"Coach (Terry) Nashif is from Washington, he's the main guy recruiting me and Jimmer Fredette is a stud obviously and they say I remind them a lot of him," Kingma said. "When you look at teams in the tournament they have that one guy who can make plays and make shots, not just a freak athlete.

"You look at Northern Iowa and they have (Ali Farokhmanesh) who can shoot the three and isn't afraid to take the shot to beat Kansas. I'm not Mormon so that's one of the biggest challenges there but they're showing me everything else good about the program. It could be a great opportunity."

Gonzaga was an early favorite after the Bulldogs offered Kingma early in his sophomore season and a commitment almost happened but the Mill Creek, Wash., standout has decided to take his time and figure out which other programs will get involved. He said waiting might be the best idea.

After the summer circuit, where Kingma hopes to show off assets other than his shooting ability, he hopes more schools get involved - maybe even some Pac-10 programs - so he could figure something out this fall.

"I'm not really leaning toward anyone now," Kingma said. "Early on it was Gonzaga but I think schools will be surprised that I can do more than just shoot.

"Schools have heard that I can shoot but I really improved my game in the last year and gotten stronger and have gotten better with the ball so it will be interesting to see what schools think about that when July comes around."