Romar Signs Pair To National Letters Of Intent

University of Washington head basketball coach Lorenzo Romar Wednesday announced the signings of Donaven Dorsey and Tristan Etienne to national letters of intent, and said the pair will join the Huskies starting in the 2014-15 season. A 6-10 forward, Etienne comes from Abbotsford, British Columbia, while Dorsey is a 6-foot-6 swing from Timberline High School.

Etienne plays for W. J. Mouat Secondary School and is a member of the AAU team, DRIVE Basketball. He’s considered one of the top 10 players in Canada. Dorsey is ranked 60^th nationally among small forwards, according to ESPN.com.

“We couldn’t be happier with the signing of Tristan and Donaven,” said Romar. “We think both of these guys are going to help us be a better basketball program. They’ll fill a void for us next year when Perris Blackwell and C.J. Wilcox leave.”

Of Etienne, Romar said, “Tristan is a kid that we’ve been recruiting for a long time. We’ve been watching him for a while and he’s continued to develop and get better. He’s one of the top four or five prospects in Canada. He is a good shot blocker, has really good hands and can also step outside and knock a shot down.

“When you look at his frame, you can just see that after a year or so of getting on the weights, working with our strength coach, his upside will be huge.

“Donaven Dorsey is a very rangy, versatile wing,” Romar added. “He can handle the ball and shoot the ball. He’s athletic at 6-foot-6 with long arms. He’s a proto-typical Husky wing, as we would call it. He went to Timberline High School about an hour away from here and he’s going have an immediate impact for us, along with Etienne.”

The Huskies (1-0) play their first game in the 2K Sports Classic at 8 p.m. Thursday at Alaska Airlines Arena against UC Irvine.