When Patrick McCollom moved to San Diego from Washington state with his grandparents, he didn't know what to expect.
As the 6-foot-3 point guard helped San Diego High to its first section basketball title since 1975, McCollom quickly became impressed with the attention he received from new USD coach Bill Grier.
So impressed that yesterday McCollom signed a national letter of intent to join the Toreros program.
“I knew about USD and San Diego State when I moved here, but I hadn't given any thought to going there,” said McCollom, 18, who averaged 17.7 points during his one season with the Cavers. “I was really impressed when Coach Grier started coming to a lot of my games. USD has everything I want academically.”
McCollom said he had pretty much made up his mind by the time the Toreros, who do not lose a starter, won the West Coast Conference title and beat Connecticut in an NCAA Tournament game.
By then, he was sold on the program and the campus.
“This program is going to do something amazing and I want to be part of that,” McCollom said. “I like a challenge, so my plan is to compete for a starting spot.”
That will be tough since he will be going against incumbent Brandon Johnson, who averaged 16.9 points and was named an honorable mention All-American by CollegeHoops.net.
Even Grier expects immediate production from McCollom.
“He's that level, he's that good,” Grier said. “He'll give us depth on the perimeter and we like his unselfishness. I'd seen Patrick when he was in Tacoma, but he was more of a scorer then.
“Give (San Diego High) coach (Kenny) Roy and his staff credit. He is a much more complete player now. He was our No. 1 guard recruit this spring.”
Roy said McCollom's decision to stay local is a good sign.
“This is a validation of San Diego basketball,” said Roy. “We've had a lot of good players recently and I think people are starting to notice. Just think what kind of a team we could have if guys like Chase Budinger, Jamelle Horne, Jeff Withey, Jaydee Luster and Kenton Walker had stayed home.
“We are very excited here for Patrick because this seems like a very good fit. The thing I liked was coaches were saying Patrick had improved and was doing a lot of positive things he hadn't done when he was in Washington.”
Although McCollom didn't match the scoring numbers he put up while in Washington, he melded with 6-11 sophomore center Jeremy Tyler to give the Cavers an overpowering inside-outside game.
McCollom's ball-handling skills and ability to drive the basket, play sound defense and distribute the ball to teammates earned him All-San Diego Section honors.
Other schools showing interest in McCollom were Kentucky, Purdue, Arizona State, Washington State and Connecticut.
Inside help
As expected, the Toreros also landed powerful inside player Roberto Mafra, a 6-9, 235-pound Brazilian from Southeastern Community College in Iowa. Mafra signed his letter of intent after earlier giving an oral commitment.
“He'll help our interior depth,” Grier said of Mafra, a third-team community college All-American considered an outstanding short blocker and defender.
Steve Brand: (619) 293-1854; steve.brand@uniontrib.com
