WSU Basketball Recruiting | Cougars reloading at guard

Signing day with Tony Bennett is not exactly balloons, bands and superlatives. Wednesday, the word he relied on most in discussing the five new basketball signees at Washington State was "encouraged."

"I don't know what their 'stars' are," said Bennett, the Washington State coach, referring to the popular recruiting-evaluation measure. "They're hungry kids that want to play at an elite level.

"What they are now is somewhat important, but what they are when they leave is really important."

The Web site Scout.com gave the Cougars one of 14 "honorable-mention" rankings after its top 25.

This is a pivotal class for WSU because it loses several key members of the first full group recruited for Tony's father Dick Bennett, including Derrick Low, Kyle Weaver and Robbie Cowgill. Guard was a priority because of the impending departures of Low and Weaver, and in 2009, Taylor Rochestie.

The class:

Marcus Capers, 6-foot-5, 175 pounds, guard, Montverde (Fla.) Academy. He averaged 17 points for Lake Region High before transferring prior to his senior year. Rochestie's gesture of giving up his scholarship next season allowed the Cougars to sign Capers, a slashing player recommended to Bennett by the same friend who had seen Weaver in Wisconsin several years ago.

Michael Harthun, 6-3, 175, guard, South Medford (Ore.) High School. A high-school teammate of Duke freshman Kyle Singler, Harthun's 24 points helped his team to the Oregon 6A state title when he was a junior over a Lake Oswego team led by now-UCLA freshman Kevin Love. Harthun is a strong shooter.

Klay Thompson, 6-6, 190, forward, Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Catholic. Son of 1978 overall No. 1 NBA draft pick Mychal Thompson, Thompson picked WSU over Notre Dame and Michigan. The scholarship was originally ticketed for Inglemoor guard Mark McLaughlin, who committed to WSU in July, then reversed field and chose Nevada.

James Watson, 6-8, 210, forward, Stringtown, Okla. Watson helped his 52-student high school to the state B championship last winter, and WSU likes him for his athleticism. Bennett visited Stringtown and said the 400-person town "makes Pullman look like a metropolis."

Nick Witherill, 6-3, 165, guard, Scottsdale (Ariz.) Highland. The only recruit who committed before WSU's 26-8 season, Witherill averaged 17 points as a sophomore and 21 as a junior.

Other signees

Gonzaga men (3): Andy Poling, 6-11, forward, Westview in Portland; Grant Gibbs, 6-5, guard, Linn-Mar in Marion, Iowa; Demetri Goodson, 6-foot, guard, Klein Collins in Spring, Texas.

WSU women (7): Jessica Oestreicher, 6-8, center, the tallest recruit in Cougars history, Liberty Christian in Redding, Calif. (rated as the No. 25 player in the country by bballx.com); April Cook, 5-8, guard, Long Beach (Calif.) Poly; Danielle Lenoir, 5-6, point guard, Narbonne, Los Angeles; Lexie Pettersen, 6-1, forward, Shadle Park, Spokane; Rosie Tarnowski, 6-1, guard-forward, Archbishop, Philadelphia; Jazmine Perkins, 5-10, guard, Berkeley (Calif.); Katie Grad, 5-8, guard, 3A state champion Auburn Riverside. Grad committed to WSU last year before coach June Daugherty was hired. Daugherty calls Grad "a born leader that will not be outworked."

Gonzaga women (2): Kayla Standish, 6-2, forward, Ellensburg; Shannon Reader, 6-2, center, Lake Oswego (Ore.).

Washington women: UW said it had no signings on Wednesday, but expected to make an announcement about signings today.

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com