Pac-10 school pulls in Thames

There was no need to wait until the end of the summer for Xavier Thames. The California point guard ended his recruitment on Tuesday night.

The 6-foot-3 native of Elk Grove picked up the phone and called Washington State head coach Tony Bennett and committed to the Pac-10 school.

"It was the coaching staff," Thames said on why Washington State was his school of choice. "Coach [Tony] Bennett and coach [Ron] Sanchez said that I should be able to play a lot of minutes right away, if not start. Plus, it's the Pac-10 and I think that is one of the best, if not the best, conferences in the country."

Washington State has always been high on Thames' list. His father played at the school for a short time and the Cougars were one of the first schools to show genuine interest in him.

Iowa State, Marquette and Oregon State made a strong pitch but the Cougars won out in the end.

"About two weeks ago, I sat down with my dad and my mom and we felt like [Washington State] was the best fit. I wanted to stay on the West Coast. That was the key," Thames said.

Thames, a Rivals150 prospect, joins local product Anthony Brown in Washington State's 2009 recruiting class.