OregonPreps
This past Sunday, Mario Gill walked with the rest of his Wilson High School classmates at graduation. The quick 6-foot-1, 175-pound guard from Portland did so with his college future already set as well. The NCAA Clearinghouse will prevent him from heading to the Division I level immediately, but Gill was able to secure a full scholarship at a top national JC program to help him get there two seasons from now.
"I'm going to Eastern Arizona next year," Gill said. "I had gotten my SAT score back and I was a couple of points off (from qualifying) so I have to take the JC route. Eastern Arizona got in contact with me right after I got my score and they're going to pay for everything. I did my research and they're pretty good too."
Gill decided on the Gila Monsters - who have had a number of kids from Portland in recent years including recent San Francisco signee Dontae Bryant - not long after getting a good look at Thatcher, Arizona. "I took a visit down there and it's really cool," Gill said. "Of course, the weather is nice and the campus is nice too. But the basketball court - that's my favorite part of the place and that's great because that's where I'll be spending most of my time."
At EAC, Gill notes that they plan on using him mainly at the combo guard spot but he's aiming to show the staff what he can do as a floor leader. "I'm going to get my point guard game going down there," Gill said. "I'm just going to play hard and do whatever God has planned for me down there."
This past season, Gill was named PIL 6A Player of the Year and earned First Team All-State honors after averaging 18.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists while shooting over 55 percent from the field and over 46 percent from the three-point line. Since he wasn't an academic qualifier, Gill will now be a member of the JC Class of 2010 and he will be completely open in the recruiting process.
