UW men's basketball team lands JC big man Garcia

One of the goals for the Washington men's basketball coaching staff this year was to find some big players who could immediately fill the void that will be left by the graduation of all-conference forward Jon Brockman after the 2008-09 season.

The Huskies took a big step in that direction this weekend by securing a commitment from Charles Garcia Jr., a forward from Riverside (Calif.) Community College.

Garcia, 6-foot-9 ½ and 220 pounds, committed to UW after visiting the campus this weekend.

Garcia said he was intrigued by the opportunity that will be created by Brockman's departure and liked what he saw of Seattle. "It's real mellow up here," he said.

Garcia averaged roughly 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks last year as a freshman at Riverside. He will play there again this year, then join the Huskies in 2009.

Garcia is something of a sleeper in recruiting circles. He's a graduate of Dorsey High in Los Angeles, where he played often against current Huskies forward Darnell Gant of Crenshaw. Garcia briefly attended Sacramento State, but didn't play there after running into academic issues.

But his stock rose dramatically after leading Riverside to a 25-8 record and being named a first-team all-state player.

Garcia said he also was considering USC, San Diego State, Nebraska and Tennessee but decided to cancel all his trips after his visit to Washington.

"I just didn't want to deal with the whole recruiting process," he said. "I wanted to get it out of the way."

The Huskies earlier received a commitment from guard C.J. Wilcox of Pleasant Grove, Utah. They are expected to have four available scholarships for that class.

Bob Condotta: 206-515-5699 or bcondotta@seattletimes.com