MISSOULA, Mont. — Missoula Hellgate senior Tres Tinkle has made a verbal commitment to play basketball at Oregon State, where his father was named head coach in May.
The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 21.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.8 steals as a junior, when Hellgate finished second at the state Class AA tournament. He led Hellgate to the state championship as a sophomore and recently decided to finish his high school career at Hellgate.
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Tinkle says Stephen Thompson Jr. of Torrance, California — whose father is an assistant coach at OSU — also committed to playing for the Beavers starting with the 2015-16 season.
The early signing period begins on Nov. 12.
Coach Tinkle cannot comment on recruits until after they sign their letters of intent, but as a father he says he's glad his son has made his decision and he can focus on his senior year both athletically and academically.