WSU BASKETBALL: DeMarquise Johnson Leads Three Signing Letters Of Intent

Guard DeMarquise Johnson, forward Brett Boese and forward Richard Longrus Jr. each signed letters of intent today to play basketball at WSU next year, with a fourth from center Richard Peters expected to arrive in the next day or two.

The class represents what is roundly considered the school's best class since the Klay Thompson class of 2008, complete with a reasonable facsimile of Thompson himself in the person of Johnson, a sweet shooting 6-foot-5 wing who is rated the No. 1 shooting guard on the West Coast by Scout.com.

"From what we have seen as a staff, he is as good a shooter, at least on the West Coast, as there is out there," Bone said. "He can really shoot it. The nice thing about him is, he's not only a good shooter, but he's a very a good athlete. And sometimes that's what is difficult to find. That's where Que is really good."

Longrus is considered a bit of a defensive specialist with offensive upside, while Boese is thought of as a stretch four. Peters apparently is missing a signature on his letter, and will send it in once the signature is obtained.

We had a brief scouting report of Johnson here, and one of Richard Peters here. After the jump, you can read the release from the WSU Athletic Department and watch the video of Ken Bone's press conference.

PULLMAN, Wash. - Brett Boese (Base), DeMarquise (Dee-Mar-Kees) 'Que' Johnson, and Richard Longrus (Long-Russ), Jr. have each signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Washington State University men's basketball team next season, head coach Ken Bone announced Wednesday.

"Another good thing about these three guys is the academic side," Bone said. "That's important to our program, guys that want to come in and not only be a part of the basketball scene, but also value the academic side and their education. We're very excited about this recruiting class andlike I said earlier, I don't think it's over yet, I think we'll add another player to this."

Brett Boese (6-7, 210, SF, Spokane, Wash./Shadle Park HS) missed the majority of his junior season at Shadle Park High School with an injury, but scored 102 points in six games, averaging 17.0 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Highlanders. As a sophomore Boese was named to the Greater Spokane League second team in 2009-10.

"We are very excited about Brett," Bone said. "We have watched Brett play for a couple years. You want people to come into your program that are excited and anxious to be a part of your program. I think that's where Brett is coming from. He really wants to be here at Pullman and the Washington State basketball program is important to him. That's a great fit because we are really excited about him too. He's a good one, and another guy that can really shoot it."

DeMarquise `Que' Johnson (6-6, 190, SG, Phoenix/Westwind Prep) averaged 20.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.5 steals per game as a junior at Westwind Prep Academy in Phoenix. He led the Warriors to a 30-2 record and the Class 2A State Championship in 2010-11, scoring 20-plus points in the final four games of the season, including 26 in Westwind's 82-63 victory over Thatcher in the State Championship game to earn spot on the all-tournament team. He was named first team all-State and first team All-Metro Region.

Richard Longrus, Jr. (6-7, 210, F, Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd HS) earned three varsity letters at Bishop O'Dowd High School. As a junior Longrus, Jr. helped lead the Dragons to a 25-7 record and a second-place finish in the California State Championship, averaging 11.8 points and 8.0 rebounds an outing. During his sophomore year he helped the team to 30-4 record averaging 8.5 points and 5.1 rebounds a game.

"He is a really good, solid basketball player that we need," Bone said. "We need that guy with a great defensive presence who is able to rebound. Plus he is going to be a good offensive player, too. His identity is more on the defensive end because he is such a selfless offensive player. Richard has some good athletic tools. He has a very good understanding of how to play the game."

"Our staff has done a remarkable job," Bone said. "It's been a long summer/fall in regards to recruiting. Not just the guys that are out there, Coach Hironaka, Coach Johnson, Coach Allen, but Mike Simonson, Jared Barrett, Tim Marrion, those guys in the office have been working their tails off too and I think we're going to reap the benefits of that."

The Cougars open the season Monday, Nov. 14 at Gonzaga at 9 p.m. The game will be televised by ESPN and kicks off ESPN's 2011 College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon.