Lewis-Clark State College men’s basketball coach Brandon Rinta has announced the signing of six players for the Warriors next season, including two junior college transfers, two transfers from Rinta’s former school Northwest Nazarene University, a Division I transfer, and a high school senior.
The six join two Clarkston High School seniors – Tommy Sperry and Trey Sobotta – as new players in the program next season for the first-year coach. Although Rinta was hired as LCSC’s coach less than a month ago, both he and assistant coach Austin Johnson are enjoying the benefits of having hit the recruiting trail hard.
“Coach Johnson and I are very excited about the group of guys we have coming into the program next season,” Rinta said. “We aren’t completely done yet, but we believe with the guys that we have coming back off of last year’s team along with the guys we’ve been able to sign that we have put ourselves in a position to be very competitive in the Frontier Conference.”
Rinta, who was assistant coach at Northwest Nazarene for the past four seasons, will be reunited with two former NNU players, 6-foot-5 senior forward Darious Walker and 5-10 sophomore guard Joey Wayman. They will be joined by 7-0 freshman center Payton Pervier of Glacier Peak High in Mill Creek, Wash., and freshman Sean Fisher of Spokane, a 6-0 guard who is transferring after redshirting last season at Eastern Washington University. Also transferring from junior colleges are 6-6 junior forward Danny Marshall from Spokane Community College and Nick Fromm, a 6-6 forward from North Idaho College. Both will be junior next season.
Walker played one season at NNU after two seasons at Tacoma Community College. He is from Tacoma and averaged 10 points and four rebounds a game at NNU last season. Late in the season, he was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference co-Player of the Week when he scored a combined 39 points in a pair of road wins. During a four-game win streak in February, Walker averaged 17 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 68.6 percent from the field and 91.3 percent at the foul line.
At Tacoma Community College, Walker was a Northwest Athletic Association of Community College first-team selection as a sophomore when he averaged 14 points and seven rebounds. He also shot 60 percent from the field as his team finished 25-4 overall.
“Darious is a very physical and athletic forward,” Rinta said. “He was an impact player for us at NNU and I look for him to continue that here at LC State.”
Wayman is from Hoquiam, Wash., and spent last season in a reserve role at NNU where he averaged 2.6 points and 1.8 assists per game. He originally attended Central Washington University out of Hoquiam High School for a year but did not play basketball. During his senior season at Hoquiam in 2008-09, Wayman averaged 21 points, seven assists, and 2.5 steals per game. He earned all-Evergreen Conference first-team honors three straight seasons and left Hoquiam as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,422 points.
“Joey is a quick guard that has the ability to be a distributor or a scorer,” Rinta said. “He will bring energy to the floor for us offensively and defensively.”
Pervier is now the tallest player on the Warrior roster. He had a an outstanding career at Glacier Peak and averaged 17 points, 11.5 rebounds and five blocked shots per game during his senior season as the Grizzlies placed fifth in the Washington Class 3A tournament. He was named all-Westco Conference first team as well. As a junior, he blocked a school-record 98 shots and helped his team to the District 1 title and a fourth-place finish at State. He set the 3A record for blocked shots at the state tournament with 24.
“Payton has been steadily improving over the last two years and I am excited to get the opportunity to help him continue that,” Rinta said. “With his size and skill, he has the ability to be a dominant player in the Frontier Conference down the road.”
Fisher graduated from Gonzaga Prep in 2009 and redshirted this past season at Eastern Washington, which means he is still a freshman eligibility-wise. At Gonzaga Prep, he was a first team all-Greater Spokane League selection when he averaged 12.8 points per game. In his final game, he scored 21 points, all in the second half, to help Gonzaga Prep to a fourth-place finish at the Washington State 4A Tournament. He earned honorable mention all-league honors as a junior when he averaged 13.9 points.
“Sean has worked really hard to make himself into a big-time shooter,” Rinta said. “He has a true shooter’s mentality and is capable of scoring in bunches.”
Marshall spent two seasons at Spokane Community College where he was a NWAACC first-team all-East Regional selection. He helped his team to a 22-8 record and a third place finish at the NWAACC Tournament. He participated in the NWAACC All-Star Game and averaged 13.0 points and 7.8 rebounds last season. He had season highs of 21 points and 17 rebounds during his freshman season.
“Danny gives us a skilled forward that can do a little bit of everything,” Rinta said. “He has been a huge part of a very successful program at SCC for the last two years. I expect him to do the same here at L-C State.”
Fromm was a standout at Lake City High in Coeur d’Alene and then spent two years with NIC. This past season as a starter with the Cardinals he averaged 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
“Nick gives us another physical presence inside,” Rinta said. “He has the ability to step out and shoot it, but his toughness and work ethic are what make him a great player.”
