Westlake High School (Ohio) senior power forward Gavin Skelly committed to Northwestern on Monday.
Skelly, who is 6-foot-9 and 215 pounds, also considered Bucknell, Elon, Florida Gulf Coast, Notre Dame and Stanford.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Skelly said. “They said they would offer me if I committed to them. ‘If you commit to us, we’ll commit to you.’ We kind of committed to each other.
“Definitely the academics and athletics were huge [in my decision], same with the coaching staff and the couple kids I met. [Northwestern coach] Chris Collins is coming in with a whole new staff and his dream. I wanted to be a part of that first recruiting class. I want to make history [and go to the NCAA tournament.] I want to be remembered. This is it. Our recruiting class can be the class to make it the first tournament.”
After averaging 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four blocks as a junior at Westlake, Skelly raised his recruiting profile while playing with Team Work on the club circuit over the last few months. He was recently mentioned as a top performer at the AAU Nationals and Super Showcase in Orlando by ESPN Recruiting. His athleticism, outside shooting and his inside game were noted by ESPN’s recruiting coordinators.
“There are definitely some things I’ve worked on,” Skelly said. “I’m still growing into my body and getting taller. Hopefully, I’ll get to 6-10. I’ve working out, lifting, shooting, working on my explosion, everything like that. I really don’t know where the ceiling of my game can be. I feel like anything is possible. I don’t think I’m ranked on ESPN. I think coach Collins sees something in me that I can be something better than I am now. I think he’s the guy to push me.”
Skelly is Northwestern’s second Class of 2014 recruit. He joins St. Rita (Chicago) small forward Victor Law, who is ranked No. 66 by ESPN.
