It was taken for granted that James Nunnally would play his college ball at University of the Pacific. The school is close to his house, he can usually be seen up at the open gym runs, and his older brother, Mike Nunnally, will be on the Tigers' roster next season. Nunnally wanted to announce his choice just before the second signing period in the spring, but he had a change of heart. Instead, the highflying 6-foot-5 wing from Weston Ranch in Stockton (Calif.), has decided to give a verbal commitment to Pacific's Big West rival, the Santa Barbara Gauchos, thus ending his recruitment.

"Last night, I just called Coach Williams and told him that I want to be a Gaucho," said Nunnally. "I thought it was the right fit, it is an up and coming program and they have a lot of big things in store for the future."

Other schools recruiting the athletic wing included UOP, UC Riverside, Northridge, Portland and Portland State, all of which offered him scholarships. USF, Sac State, Colorado, Creighton, Florida Atlantic, Northeastern and San Diego State also showed interest.

Rob Jones, the co-founder of the Bay Area Hoosiers believes that Nunnally to UCSB is a good fit.

"James is a good sized wing who can get out and defend and finish," said Jones. "Coach Williams will work on him getting better in the areas that he needs to improve on."

Last year, Nunnally had a break out season for Weston Ranch. He helped his high school team to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championships against Sacramento High. During the year, he averaged 23 points and eight rebounds a game and in the sectional finals, Nunnally had 25 points in a losing effort to Sac High. Nunnally followed up his strong season performance with a solid spring and summer effort for the Hoosiers.

One of his signature moments came during the Double Pump Las Vegas Spring Easter tournament. Nunnally ran the floor, soared for monster dunks, rebounded the ball well and made plays with his athleticism. He turned heads with his play against the super talented Pump N Run team as Nunnally scored 19 points, dunked on Renaldo Woolridge and kept the Hoosiers in the game early.

"I was just out the key when I took off and he tried to jump with me," said Nunnally. "I really like to dunk in transition. Especially on people as it gets my teammates excited."

In the summer at the Double Pump session #2 camp, Nunnally was selected for the all-star game and he continued his solid play throughout the end of the club season. Phil Doherty, the head coach of the Bay Area Hoosiers I, believes Nunnally is a player who will help UCSB.

"He is going into a good situation," said Doherty. "He will bring immediate athleticism from the wing spots. In a year or a two, he will be more polished and a much better college player and his best basketball is in front of him."

Doherty called Nunnally a workhorse of a player who keeps on working on the court. With the addition of Nunnally, UCSB will have gotten two NorCal players in Nunnally and William Brew, a 6-foot-3 guard from St. Mary's in Berkeley.

Nunnally is happy with his decision and he is glad it is over.

"I feel that I made a good decision, because I wanted to get away from Stockton," said Nunnally. "I did not want to follow my brother's footsteps and go to the same school that he went, although I like the people there. I am glad I got it over with."