BMOC

Today Jon Brockman will make it official. Washington rather than Duke will enjoy his services next fall. Following Brockman's example, look for other Seattle-area recruits to stay close to home. Consequently, Washington will soon establish itself as a tourney regular.

UW coach Lorenzo Romar has repeated over and over that it would take just one nationally recruited player with local roots to fully legitimize his program, and Brockman qualifies there...The Snohomish big man is a top-30 player or better. As a junior, he averaged 23 points and 13 rebounds per game and was an all-state selection. The fact alone that Duke went to great lengths to get a commitment, with Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski visiting the Pacific Northwest a few weeks back, stamped him as a high priority.

For more than two decades, nationally recruited players from Seattle have left in droves for higher profile programs, with ESPN-TV serving as a natural recruiting conduit by airing an overabundance of ACC and Big East games into local teenagers' homes, making bold steps easier to take...Nearly two dozen players with top-level credentials went elsewhere, among them future NBA players in Franklin guard Jason Terry (Arizona), Rainier Beach guard Jamal Crawford (Michigan), Federal Way swingman Donny Marshall (Connecticut), Federal Way swingman Michael Dickerson (Arizona) and Kamiakin forward Scot Pollard (Kansas).

Brockman, however, is staying home, possibly starting a new trend.

Martell Webster, the 6'7" forward who is the subject of a John McNight report in the latest issue of ESPN Magazine, is the lone remaining Seattle-area stud who has yet to commit to an institution of higher learning.

Webster may or may not take advantage of the scholarship that became available when Anthony Washington chose to transfer. But you can be sure that Brockman's decision will make Martell think long and hard before deciding against the Huskies.