West Coast schools after Oregon guard

The West Coast teams are making it a point to see 6-foot-3, 180-pound combo guard Brad Tinsley this season. The junior from Oregon City (Ore.) High School has a lot to see, says his coach and the colleges are getting a lot to consider after watching the hard-working backcourt player.

Oregon City head coach Mike Doherty is no stranger to top level talent. The legendary Oregon coach said he relies on the maturity of Tinsley any chance he gets this year.

"We'd be foolish not to put the ball in his hands as much as possible," Doherty said. "When he has it, we are doing good things."

Tinsley is a capable scorer with good basketball instincts and a knack for making big plays. Maybe that is why Tinsley has been a popular player to so far this season. Doherty said Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Pepperdine, New Mexico, Utah and Gonzaga have all been in to see his star guard in action.

"A lot of the West Coast schools are coming to see him but as you'd imagine, we're getting a lot of calls and letters from all over," Doherty said. "I'd say he is probably leaning to somewhere on the West Coast just because we see more of them around and some are more excited about him than other schools."

With all of the attention being paid to the three headed monster of Kevin Love, Kyle Singler and Clint Chapman in Oregon, Doherty said Tinsley ranks amongst the best at his position in his class.

"I think he has the best overall upside of all the guards in this state. We have about five Division I guards in Oregon (in 2008) and he has the best tools to work with in my opinion," Doherty said.