Dana Altman can coach. Dana Altman can recruit. On Thursday afternoon the Ducks gained a verbal commitment from 4-star power forward Trevor Manuel, who announced the news via Instagram and Twitter.
Manuel visited last weekend for the Michigan State game. Incidentally, the Spartans figured to be the favorite for his signature, but after the visit to Eugene he was convinced that he wanted to play for the University of Oregon. Speaking with Andrew Nemec of the Oregonian earlier this week, Manuel had this to say about the Ducks:
"Really, it felt like a family out there," he said. "I haven't seen that from everybody that I've talked to, but they are really family based and family-oriented. I'm a big family guy, I love that."
"Everything was beautiful," he said. "The arena was nice and the facilities were top-notch. It doesn't get much better than that."
Manuel plays his high school ball for prep powerhouse Oak Hill Academy. He is 6'9, 215 lbs and can play inside or out as a wing or forward, giving Dana Altman the lineup flexibility he loves. Manuel is a much needed front court player and surely won't be the last in this class as Oregon is in desperate need of size following Ben Carter's transfer and Ray Kasongo's failure to qualify academically.
Manuel is the second verbal commitment in the 2015 class and joins 4-star point guard Kendall Small. He chose Oregon over offers from Michigan State, Michigan, Kansas State, Providence, and Wake Forest, among others.