Local prep standouts make their college commitments

Trey Woodbury runs drills during a Vegas Elite practice in Las Vegas on Tuesday, July 25, 2017. Bridget Bennett Las Vegas Review-Journal @bridgetkbennett

Bishop Gorman senior wing Jamal Bey made a pit stop at nemesis Clark High School on Wednesday morning before signing his national letter of intent to play basketball at the University of Washington.

“I’ve been playing with him almost my whole life,” Bey said, motioning toward Chargers senior guard Trey Woodbury. “I just wanted to show support.”

Rivals on the court. Best friends off of it.

All rivalries were cast aside Wednesday, the first day of the early fall signing period in which prospects can sign financial-aid agreements with Division I and Division-II universities. Bey, Woodbury and Clark senior guard Greg Foster Jr. — the top three senior players in town — solidified commitments to their respective schools.

Woodbury is headed to UNLV and Foster will play for national runner-up Gonzaga. The two Chargers players were honored in a brief ceremony at Clark, and Bey returned to Gorman to sign in the afternoon with Woodbury in attendance.

“That’s my brother,” Woodbury said of Bey. “The fact that he made it means a lot to me.”

Woodbury committed to UNLV in July and was the first top senior to announce a decision. Bey followed suit in September, and Foster informed Bulldogs coach Mark Few of his commitment late Tuesday night.

Foster’s father, Greg Sr. is an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, and surprised his son by attending the ceremony roughly 15 hours after their loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. All three signees took pictures with their families, coaches and teammates.

“It’s satisfying, man. That’s the goal with a program like this,” Chargers coach Chad Beeten said. “We want to obviously win games and win championships, but we want to produce guys that go onto the college level and hopefully realize their dreams beyond that.”

Clark’s Division-I caliber underclassmen Jalen Hill, Ian Alexander and Frankie Collins were all in attendance. Beeten said watching their teammates sign letters of intent is a prime learning experience.

“It gives them, kind of the in to their goals and their dreams and their aspirations,” he said. “They know that these guys have done it for a long time and they know how to do it as a team.”

With signing day out of the way, the Chargers can refocus on basketball and the upcoming season, which begins with practice on Saturday.

Clark and Gorman are stocked with talent and figure to be the top two teams in the state. The Gaels beat the Chargers in the 2017 Class 4A state championship game, but Clark scored a victory in the preseason Halloween Hoops tournament at Coronado on Oct. 29.

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.