Northwest Notes Nov. 15, 2022

WSU men announce three signings in early period

PULLMAN — Washington State men’s basketball coach Kyle Smith announced the addition of three players for the 2023-24 season — freshman Rueben Chinyelu (Nigeria), junior college transfer Oscar Cluff (Sunshine Coast, Australia), and freshman Parker Gerrits (Olympia, Wash.).

Chinyelu, a 6-foot-11 power forward and center, hails from Nigeria by way of NBA Academy Africa, an elite basketball training center in Senegal for the top high-school age prospects from across Africa. Chinyelu most recently participated in the 2022 NBA Academy Games, a series of exhibition games featuring top NBA Academy prospects. Chinyelu helped lead NBA Academy Africa to a first-place finish in the tournament. Last spring, Chinyelu played for Mozambique’s CFV in the Basketball Africa League (BAL) as part of an initiative to include one NBA Academy Africa player on each team.

Cluff, a 6-10, 250-pound power forward, comes from Cochise College (Ariz.). During his freshman season, Cluff led the Apaches to a 29-4 record last season and the conference title in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference. The Sunshine Coast, Australia, native led the country in field goal percentage with a .750 clip (165-of-220) while averaging 12.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Cochise won its region, advancing to the NJCAA Division I Tournament before falling to national-runner up Salt Lake CC in the Round of 32.

Gerrits, a native of Olympia, Wash., enters his senior season at Olympia High. A a 6-2, 180-pound guard, Gerrits helped the Bears to a 26-6 record during his junior season, averaging a team-best 19 points per game to lead Olympia to the South Puget Sound League championship, District 3 title, and third-place finish at the 4A Washington state championships with a school-record 26 wins. Gerrits earned first-team All-SPSL honors and was named to the 4A all-state first team.