Shaw Shines at LSI

Nearly all of the recognizable names at the Les Schwab Invitational last week had sub par performances. Because of that, several other players had a chance to rise to the occasion and show off their skills. One of those players was 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Matt Shaw from Verbum Dei HS in Los Angeles.

Shaw, one of the top big men in Southern California in a promising underclassmen group, averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds in the three games Verbum Dei played at the LSI. The Class of 2006 prospect is a tenacious rebounder and is a prototypical power forward. He is a very mature player that always stays composed. Shaw said he is still developing into a player.

“Lately, I’ve been trying to expand my game by going out the perimeter and knocking down some threes. I just need to know how to do it all,” Shaw said. “I feel that will help me when I get to college. I want to show that I’m just not a post player but that I can do everything.”

Although he hails from Southern California, Shaw is getting interest from schools all over the country.

“Well of course I grew up watching the West coast teams like USC and UCLA. Lately, I’ve been looking at Michigan. The Florida teams – Florida, FSU and Miami – are schools that I’ve thought about, too.”

He’ll have plenty more schools looking at him after this season as well as the summer tour. But Shaw isn’t overly concerned with his collegiate future just yet. Is there even a favorite at this point?

“Honestly, I have no clue. There are so many to choose from,” Shaw said. “I get mail from schools that I’ve never even heard of but those schools that I mentioned are the schools that I’m most interested in.”