Bell Jr. verbally commits to Gonzaga

Gary Bell Jr., regarded as one of the top players in the 2011 class, has verbally committed to the Gonzaga men’s basketball program, his father said Monday night.

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By Jim Meehan

jimm@spokesman.com; (208) 765-7131

Gary Bell Jr., regarded as one of the top players in the 2011 class, has verbally committed to the Gonzaga men’s basketball program, his father said Monday night.

Bell Jr., a standout at Kentridge High in Kent, Wash., visited Gonzaga’s campus over the weekend with his family.

“He liked the family atmosphere, the players, the coaches. They definitely made him feel real welcome,” Gary Bell Sr. said. “It’s just a good family atmosphere and it’s a winning program. Everybody embraced him. As soon as he left from shaking Coach (Mark) Few’s hand and went to the hotel, he said, ‘I’m ready.’

“I told him, ‘OK son, sleep on it.’ Today he came in and said, ‘I think I want to commit. I told him I was 100 percent behind him.”

Bell, who scored 55 points in a game this season, is No. 53 on ESPN’s Super 60 and No. 74 on Rivals Top 150 in the 2011 recruiting class. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Bell joins Skyview High (Nampa, Idaho) guard Kyle Dranginis as verbal commitments in Gonzaga’s 2011 recruiting class.

Bell visited Gonzaga, Washington and Cal. He had scholarship offers from seven schools and was receiving interest from numerous programs nationally, including Kansas, Florida and Illinois, Bell Sr. said.

Bell Sr. said his son was being recruited by at least six Pac-10 schools.