Mt. Spokane class of 2021 forward Tyson Degenhart commits to Boise State

Mt. Spokane junior forward Tyson Degenhart announced his commitment to Boise State on Thursday afternoon after taking his first and only official visit to the

Mt. Spokane junior forward Tyson Degenhart announced his commitment to Boise State on Thursday afternoon after taking his first and only official visit to the campus last weekend..

The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 19.3 points per game as a sophomore as he helped lead Mt. Spokane's basketball program to new heights.

100% Committed💙🧡 pic.twitter.com/chr55Pzb81

— Tyson Degenhart (@tdeggie13) September 19, 2019

Degenhart was invited to Boise State's team camp on Aug. 10 and got a feel for the school and the program.

But he was sold when he took his official visit.

"They took it to another level," Degenhart said. "Going to a football game and feeling the energy around their team, seemed like they bond really well together and it seems like I fit their system perfectly. That's what I'm looking for in a school.

"They put all their cards on the table. They were straight up with me and I really could see myself playing there for four to five years."

Degenhart was a first team all-Great Spokane League selection as a sophomore and a first team all-3A state tournament selection as the Wildcats to their first 3A state championship appearance, where they lost to O'Dea, 70-39.

At 6-foot-7, he's developed a natural post presence but possesses skills beyond the low block.

"He can do it all," Mt. Spokane coach David Wagenblast said. "He's positionless. At 6-7, he posts up a lot, but he can just as easily take the ball up the court. ... He has the skills of a guard in a 6-7 post player."

Wagenblast first met Degenhart when he was a seventh grader attending Mt. Spokane's team camp and knew he'd be a special player right away. He competed with the varsity group, and by eighth grade was beating varsity kids at one-on-one and shooting competitions.

When he got to high school, Wagenblast witnessed Degenhart blossom.

It’s not by accident that he’s really talented in terms of his ability in skill," Wagenblast said. "Not everybody was born 6-7, but he works on his game and because of that he’s really improved. There’s a huge jump even from end of last season to now."

He didn't compete on the AAU circuit the summer going into his sophomore year because of a tweaked back, so Degenhart's recruiting took off on June 15 of his sophomore summer, the first day college coaches can directly contact recruits.

If he wasn't on colleges radars throughout the season, he sure turned heads in the 3A state tournament. Degenhart went toe-to-toe with O'Dea's Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 recruit in the nation in the class of 2021, in the state title game.

Wagenblast said that with all due respect to the greats of Mt. Spokane's past, "Tyson is probably the best player in the history of the school, coming from conversations with people that did get a chance to watch those other guys play."

After receiving his first Division I offer from Denver in mid-July, he picked up offers from Idaho State and Eastern Washington before Boise State offered him in early-to-mid August. He also held offers from Division III Whitworth and Division II Point Loma Nazarene.

READ |Tyson Degenhart gives insight into early stages of his recruiting process in SB Live Player Diary