PawneeSports
04-12-2006, 10:37 PM
http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/7381/solomonhorsechief7ui.jpg
By Dan Strayer
Tahlequah Daily Press
(Reprinted with permission)
EL RENO, Okla. – Solomon HorseChief is heading to the West Coast to finish his college basketball days next season. For now, he has a sophomore season to complete at Redlands Community College in El Reno.
The 6-foot, 3-inch, 180 pound guard from Muskogee that helped lead the Sequoyah High School Indians to a Class 3A state title in 2003, gave a verbal commitment recently to complete his four years of eligibility at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif.
HorseChief will finish his sophomore season with the Cougars during the 2005-2006 academic year, then join the Tigers, an NCAA Division I school competing in the Big West Conference.
“I like the team, and I feel it’s a good fit for my style of play,”HorseChief said. HorseChief has led the nationally ranked Cougars to a 5-0 start this season as the starting point guard. He is averaging 10.3 points and leads the team with 4.3 assists per game. He is also shooting 81.8 percent from the free-throw line.
In addition to his leadership on the hardwood, HorseChief was one of the more renowned football players in Cherokee County lore.
A dangerous wide receiver, HorseChief, Kaleb Harris and late quarterback Chad Stevens from the district championship team in 2003 were named to the Oklahoma Coaches Association’s Class 2A All State Team.
HorseChief excelled for the Indians in five sports, including cross country, track and baseball.
He told the Cherokee Phoenix in a January 2004 interview that he hoped to earn a scholarship to play basketball at a college. Dreams, it would seem, do come true sometimes. HorseChief is on the threshold of playing his favorite out of five varsity prep sports at the highest amateur level in the nation.
“I think I’ll be able to play big-time minutes for them,”HorseChief said. If so, he’d be playing for a rising program on the West Coast. A year ago, the Tigers were a Top 25 team for several weeks in national polls. They climbed into the Top 25 during the week of Feb. 11 and rose as high as No. 17 in late February.
Pacific’s national standing a year ago allowed the Tigers to reach the NCAA Tournament despite falling in the Big West Tournament final to Utah State.
The Tigers defeated Pittsburgh before falling to top-seed Washington in the second round of the Albuquerque Regional. HorseChief is one of four recruits confirmed either written or verbally for next season by Pacific head coach Bob Thomason, who likes the flexibility at the guard position HorseChief provides.
“Solomon is a very versatile guard and can play both guard spots,” Thomason said in a release by the Pacific Athletic Department. “He is a very smart, heady player and he has a great feel for the game.”
HorseChief commits to Pacific University Solomon HorseChief goes for a layup for Sequoyah against Riverside. (File photo)
By Dan Strayer
Tahlequah Daily Press
(Reprinted with permission)
EL RENO, Okla. – Solomon HorseChief is heading to the West Coast to finish his college basketball days next season. For now, he has a sophomore season to complete at Redlands Community College in El Reno.
The 6-foot, 3-inch, 180 pound guard from Muskogee that helped lead the Sequoyah High School Indians to a Class 3A state title in 2003, gave a verbal commitment recently to complete his four years of eligibility at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif.
HorseChief will finish his sophomore season with the Cougars during the 2005-2006 academic year, then join the Tigers, an NCAA Division I school competing in the Big West Conference.
“I like the team, and I feel it’s a good fit for my style of play,”HorseChief said. HorseChief has led the nationally ranked Cougars to a 5-0 start this season as the starting point guard. He is averaging 10.3 points and leads the team with 4.3 assists per game. He is also shooting 81.8 percent from the free-throw line.
In addition to his leadership on the hardwood, HorseChief was one of the more renowned football players in Cherokee County lore.
A dangerous wide receiver, HorseChief, Kaleb Harris and late quarterback Chad Stevens from the district championship team in 2003 were named to the Oklahoma Coaches Association’s Class 2A All State Team.
HorseChief excelled for the Indians in five sports, including cross country, track and baseball.
He told the Cherokee Phoenix in a January 2004 interview that he hoped to earn a scholarship to play basketball at a college. Dreams, it would seem, do come true sometimes. HorseChief is on the threshold of playing his favorite out of five varsity prep sports at the highest amateur level in the nation.
“I think I’ll be able to play big-time minutes for them,”HorseChief said. If so, he’d be playing for a rising program on the West Coast. A year ago, the Tigers were a Top 25 team for several weeks in national polls. They climbed into the Top 25 during the week of Feb. 11 and rose as high as No. 17 in late February.
Pacific’s national standing a year ago allowed the Tigers to reach the NCAA Tournament despite falling in the Big West Tournament final to Utah State.
The Tigers defeated Pittsburgh before falling to top-seed Washington in the second round of the Albuquerque Regional. HorseChief is one of four recruits confirmed either written or verbally for next season by Pacific head coach Bob Thomason, who likes the flexibility at the guard position HorseChief provides.
“Solomon is a very versatile guard and can play both guard spots,” Thomason said in a release by the Pacific Athletic Department. “He is a very smart, heady player and he has a great feel for the game.”
HorseChief commits to Pacific University Solomon HorseChief goes for a layup for Sequoyah against Riverside. (File photo)