Ephrata freshman discusses verbal

EPHRATA - It's still 43 months before Patrick Simon will be walking into a college classroom. But as of 7 p.m. Monday night, Simon knew what campus that classroom will be on.

Simon, the 14-year-old freshman forward for the Ephrata High School boys basketball team, made a verbal commitment to attend Washington State University and play for coach Tony Bennett.

Simon, who is 6-foot-7 and weighs in at 185-pounds, is among the top scorers (12.7 points-per-game) and rebounder (5.7) for coach Brandon Evenson's 2006-07 Tiger squad. He earned second team honors in the Central Washington Athletic Conference this year, and will join his teammates to face East Valley-Yakima Thursday in round one of the Central Washington-2A District 5/6 Championships.

Simon said he made his decision just before calling Bennett Monday evening to inform the WSU mentor of his choice. Based on several reasons, Simon said his primary driving factors was closeness of the college to family, and the direction Bennett has taken the program - the Cougars are currently second in the Pacific-10 Conference and ranked No. 9 in the nation.

"I've always liked WSU, especially knowing it's close to home and seeing how well they've done this year," he said. "My family likes it because now they'll be within a few hours of being able to see my games.

"It's a little overwhelming, but it's also very exciting to know that I can get offered a scholarship and still be so young," Simon continued. "I did wonder if I was making this decision too soon, but I know coach Bennett is doing a great job and I know the program is only going to get better. I don't regret making this decision now in any way."

Simon has been exposed to a lot of basketball, despite his young age, and has started every game this season for the Tigers. He spent last summer playing with two elite teams - the North Central Washington Reds, coached by former Quincy ace and Whitworth College player Scott Bierlink, and the Eastern Washington Elite, based in Spokane.

"They played in a lot of high school tournaments sponsored by the NCAA last summer, and college coaches were there to see him - he got a lot of exposure," said his father, Ephrata school superintendent Jerry Simon, who has two sons in Tiger uniforms this year - Daniel, a 6-foot-5 junior, is the starting point guard.

"College basketball has been the goal for both the boys, to play the game at a high level in college," said the senior Simon. "There's a lot of colleges out there looking at Daniel - they know he's a 6-foot-5 point guard who has a good game. Daniel will get there - Patrick just got it first."

Jerry Simon, who is a graduate of WSU, said he also spoke with Bennett on Monday and was pleased with what he heard. "Besides the fact the team is doing very well, a student has to pick a school based on the coach. We know Tony Bennett is a quality person - (his wife) Kathy and I are putting our son into the hands of a coaching staff that we think the world of."

Evenson said he believes Simon ranks among the best players in central and eastern Washington at this time, and believes Simon's game should fit in nicely with the Cougars.

"I'm very excited for Patrick. He is a special kind of kid, a great young man," said the coach. "He does well in his classes, and he's a good kid both on and off the floor.

"I was little concerned that he made a commitment so soon, but it's a good thing for Pat because now he can out and play and not worry about the whole recruiting game. That can drag on a player after a while," Evenson added. "For now, it's just verbal, so it's non-binding. If coach Bennett should leave the school, Patrick can change his mind - I do believe he will live up to the commitment because that's the kind of person he is."

Under NCAA rules, no one from the WSU coaching staff can comment on the move until Simon signs a national letter of intent, which can't happen until the fall of 2009.

Simon is the second underclassman to make a verbal commitment to a major college program in the state this year. Last summer, Gonzaga University and coach Mark Few got the word from Brock Osweiler, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Kalispell, Mont.