WSU basketball recruiting: Malachi Flynn inks National Letter of Intent

Malachi Flynn, a guard prospect out of Tacoma, Wash., has signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Washington State, head coach Ernie Kent announced Wednesday. Flynn joins Los Angeles, Calif. guard Milan Acquaah and Bountiful, Utah forward Jeff Pollard as members of the Cougars' 2016 recruiting class.

"Malachi really reminds me of the guard play that I had when we built those really good teams at Oregon," Kent said at Wednesday's press conference. "The skill set, the feel for the game, his ability to score, his motor and, more importantly, his drive to be successful.

"I just thought that he was an incredible get for us and not only for what he does on the floor, but he's one of the top students that we've ever recruited here. That recruiting class with him, Pollard and Acquaah, all of them are outstanding players, but outstanding students, as well, which is very important to us."

The 6-foot-1, 165-pound combo guard received an offer from the Washington State staff in late February, then committed while on an official visit last month. He signed with the Cougars over offers from Davidson, Pepperdine, San Diego, Cal Poly, Columbia, Montana State, UC Davis and Pacific, whom he was previously committed to.

As a senior, Flynn was named the Washington 4A Player of the Year, Narrows League MVP and Tacoma News Tribune All-Area Player of the Year after averaging nearly 30 points per game for Bellarmine Prep. Kent equated Flynn's game to that of Luke Ridnour, Aaron Brooks and Tajuan Porter, each of whom played under him at Oregon.

"We're looking forward to getting Malachi here," Kent said. " I think with him and Milan, the two of them give me that one-two punch, if you talk about leading on the floor -- the skill, the speed, the ability to see the game and play the game at a high pace. I'm thrilled that we have them."

Recruiting notes:

Kent says it's likely the Cougars add a couple more players during the current signing period. With Valentine Izundu, Ny Redding, Renard Suggs and, most recently, Que Johnson departing from the program, the Cougars still have three open spots on their 2016-17 roster.

I've heard Kent and his staff are back in on Los Angeles, Calif. forward Lucas Siewert, who has yet to sign in this class. Siewert, a Brazilian import, is listed at 6-foot-9, 220-pounds and is teammates with Acquaah at Cathedral High School.

Another name to pop up on the WSU radar in recent days is Lakeville North, Minn. forward Nathan Reuvers, who picked up an offer from Washington State this week. The 6-foot-10, 200-pounder also holds offers from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Creighton, among several others.