K-State Basketball Gets First 2013 Recruiting Commit

From the moment he was hired, Kansas State head basketball coach Bruce Weber has been recruiting. There have been stories posted here on JOS about his efforts, including the signing of Michael Orris, an offer extended to Nathan Harris, and his offer to Damien Jones, a true student-athlete. Weber has also been working to rebuild recruiting bridges burnt by Frank Martin before he left for South Carolina. On Sunday, news broke of the first fruits of these recruiting efforts.

Small forward Alex Etherington, a 6’6″ 3-star prospect out of Hamilton Heights in Arcadia, Indiana, verbally committed on Sunday to play basketball for Bruce at Kansas State. Etherington visited Manhattan last week, and said the decision to attend KSU was not difficult.

"I liked everything — the coaches, the facilities. The new practice facility they’re building is really nice. The campus isn’t too big, but it isn’t too small."

Alex’s older brother Austin is a sophomore at Indiana University. He said that being on the recruiting trail during Austin’s last years of high school helped him decide to make his college choice fairly early in the process.

The Etherington family also has some history with head coach Bruce Weber. Weber recruited Brett Etherington, Austin and Alex’s father, when Weber was an assistant under Gene Keady at Purdue.

Alex Etherington averaged 23 points and 7 rebounds as a junior. He had attracted recruiting interest from Boston College, Xavier, and New Mexico.