Western Kentucky lands juco talent

There were a few options, but only one was stable.

Blinn Community College (TX) shooting guard Kahlil McDonald still thought about the other two offers, Houston and Wyoming, but in the end neither looked enticing. He told InsideHilltopperSports.com Wednesday afternoon that he's verbally committed to WKU.

"I know Houston wanted me to come out there," McDonald said. "But they had a new coach come in. Wyoming, the coach that was recruiting me just left that job. It's kinda almost meant for me to go to Western Kentucky because so many things were falling through with other situations. I didn't really like those schools anyway. It just made my decision that much easier."

McDonald, No. 12 in the JucoJunction top 150, made an official visit to WKU on March 19. Though he still wanted to mull it over, he had an idea then of where he wanted to go.

"Basically I already liked it going and leaving the city, I liked it a lot," McDonald said. "They gave me time to sit down and think and I thought about it. I compared the situation to other schools, what other schools are bringing in, what Western Kentucky is bringing in. I thought we have a good chance to get to that dance and go far. I wanna contribute to that, come in and work hard and do the best I can. I think it's the best situation for me to do that, be successful."

Assistant coach Ray Harper recruited McDonald and though the two really hit it off, McDonald said the same thing could be said for the rest of the coaching staff.

"They talked with me and I just got a good vibe," he said. "I got a good vibe from pretty much all the coaches. They were all cool and seemed to care a lot and just gave a good vibe all around. My dad came and he was able to see it."

McDonald also bonded with another recruit on an official visit that weekend, point guard Ken Brown. Brown has since committed as well but has been lobbying for McDonald to do the same since their visit.

"Ken just, he's an outgoing type of guy," McDonald said. "He's cool and when we played with the team that one day, you could see that he's a player. He's a player and the coaches know he's a player too. He's got game. Off the court he's cool and on the court he's definitely gonna break ya."

McDonald is a combo guard who can also handle the ball. He said he feels like the Toppers' personnel, coaches and style of play are a perfect fit for him.

"I think I fit in good, being a scorer, pretty well," McDonald said. "I think I'm easy to play with, I share the ball and I'm unselfish. That system, I'm looking to go up and down with ease. With me and Ken coming in, I think it's looking real nice in the backcourt."

McDonald is expected to sign on April 14, the first day of the spring signing period.