Peninsula’s JaQuori McLaughlin commits to Oregon State – again

Peninsula High School senior JaQuori McLaughlin is back where he was two years ago.

Committed to playing basketball at Oregon State University.

“It feels like home,” McLaughlin said.

It’s been a turbulent two years of commitments and decommitments for the 6-foot-3, 170-pound point guard — the 3A SPSL’s most valuable player last season. Friday he chose Oregon State over Utah and Wisconsin, though he says he had numerous other scholarship offers.

“I prayed on everything, went over my pros and cons and decided this is where I want to commit,” McLaughlin said. “I am 100 percent sure that this is where I want to go.”

He said he actually informed the coaches of those three schools of his decision on Wednesday.

“(It) just being football game day out in Corvallis (Oregon State hosts No. 21 Stanford at 7 p.m.), there’s going to be a lot of fans out there and I wanted to kind of get the buzz going, get people excited,” McLaughlin said of his decision to announce Friday.

His decision took a convoluted path. First, as a sophomore, he committed to Oregon State, then decommited following coach Craig Robinson’s departure, committed to the University of Washington and decommited from there in May.

But McLaughlin said that his relationship with second-year Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle — even though his decisions to decommit from OSU and commit to UW — made his Friday announcement easier.

“He always supported me, even when I committed to UW he has supported me and helped me out with my game,” McLaughlin said. “He’s been there for me when I’ve needed him.

“I feel like I have trust with him and the players and have built relationships with all of them and I feel I can build on that when I get there.”

Peninsula boys basketball coach Jake Jackson said that Tinkle and Oregon State assistant coach Gregg Gottlieb came to Peninsula High School the same week they were hired out of Montana.

“And (they) immediately showed their genuine commitment and belief in JRoc,” Jackson said in a text. “In the end, their relationship was the strongest with JRoc and his family.”

He averaged 23 points, five rebounds and five assists for Peninsula last season and is ranked the No. 89 2016 recruit in the country by 247sports — the third-highest ranked recruit in the state, according to the website, behind Rainier Beach’s Sam Cunliffe and Keith Smith.

McLaughlin was named to The News Tribune’s All-Area team for the second consecutive season last year.

“JRoc was blessed to have some of the best coaches in the entire country recruit and offer him a scholarship,” Jackson said. “He will go down as one of the most coveted recruits out of Washington. Through the entire process he has searched for a program that offers stability, structure and success, both on and off of the court. It was about the best fit for him so he can become the best person he is capable of becoming.

“His final three schools would’ve all been awesome in their own unique way. However, due to his relationship with head coach Tinkle, his heart told him Oregon State.”

And now he can stop figuring out his college plans and focus on his final year of high school, in which he has plenty of big plans as well.

“Just growing as a team over the summer and the bonding we’ve done, we are going to turn some heads with our athleticism, our teamwork and willingness to win,” McLaughlin said.

This story was originally published September 25, 2015 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Peninsula’s JaQuori McLaughlin commits to Oregon State – again."