Vaughn is a Lion

Kwame Vaughn, the 6-foot-3 senior guard from Skyline High School in Oakland (Calif.) has given a verbal commitment to Loyola Marymount University. Vaughn decided to pull the trigger after sitting down and talking to his high school coach.

"Me and my coach went over the schools recruiting me, and I just felt that LMU was the best thing for me," said Vaughn. "I liked the location, as it is not too far. I like the coaching staff, and the head coach, Rodney Tention is very similar to my head coach at Skyline, Terrence Ransom."

Other schools recruiting Vaughn included St. Mary's, Loyola of Chicago, Portland, Boise State, Oregon State, San Francisco and UC Riverside.

Vaughn is a skilled guard who is long, athletic and can play both guard spots.

"Kwame is a multi-dimensional player," said Ransom. "He is a guard who can shoot or get to the hole and finish."

Vaughn came on like gangbusters last year in the Oakland Athletic League. He helped lead his team to a second place finish in league and then to the Northern California playoffs, where Skyline lost to Oak Grove in a close game in the second round of the tournament. He was voted all-OAL and all-state as a junior.

He followed his strong high school play on the club circuit, where he was one of the hottest prospects in the region. Playing for the Bay Area Hoosiers, Vaughn had several strong outings in the spring at the Las Vegas Spring Classic and Kingwood Classic.

During the summer, he attended the Double Pump camp, where he was selected to the Best of the Best All-Star game. He finished the summer playing with the Oakland Soldiers in the Las Vegas Summer Championship.

Oregon State came into the recruiting picture and many thought Vaughn was headed there, but the Beavers did not pull the trigger. Loyola Marymount saw Vaughn in the offseason and the coaching staff attended a few open gyms at Skyline dring the beginning of the school year. When a scholarship became available, they offered and Vaughn committed. His verbal is something that Ransom believes is a good thing and something that will help him become a better player.

"One of the things about going to Loyola is that he is going to a school and playing for person who played guard in that conference," continued Ransom. "Rodney Tention will prepare him and help Kwame reach his full potential, as his best basketball is three to four years away."

Carl Foster the director of Slam N Jam says that Vaughn picked the right school in verballing to LMU.

"Kwame will fit in extremely well in LMU's style of play, because it gives guards freedom," said Foster. "Like Lute Olsen at Arizona, Tention at LMU lets his guards attack, take shots and create in transition. He gives them freedom, which is something that every player that plays guard wants."

Vaughn figures to be the leader of a Skyline team that returns most of its team from last year in an improved league.

"This year, I want to lead my team to win the OAL championship and then on to the state championship," said Vaughn.

Ransom said that Vaughn has to provide leadership on the court and bring other elements to his game this year.

"This year, we will challenge Kwame to get on the boards and have him play tougher," said Ransom. "He will have to play the 1 through the 3 for us. He is going to have to improve his leadership and trust his teammates around him. Teams will try and stop him by double and triple teaming him, and we will have to spread the ball around to win."

We will keep you updated on Vaughn and Skyline as the season progresses.