4-Star PF Recruit Kamaka Hepa Commits to Texas over Gonzaga, Others

Kamaka Hepa developed into one of the top high school basketball prospects in Alaska before he enrolled at Jefferson High School in Portland, Oregon, and he committed Tuesday to continuing that ride with the Texas Longhorns. 

Hepa, who is ranked 51st among all 2018 recruits and 12th at power forward by 247Sports, revealed his decision to Corey Evans of Rivals.com:

"At Texas, I just felt like I could help turn the program around. After talking to Coach (Shaka) Smart and Coach Darrin Horn, building a relationship with them, I just felt really comfortable with them. I trust them to help me to get where I want to be. That was a game changer for me, the relationship that I have with both Coach Smart and Coach Horn.

"They did a really good job of recruiting me this past year and I just felt like we had a really good relationship and trust them."

The 4-star power forward drew rave reviews during his time at Barrow High School in Alaska, winning two Gatorade Alaska Boys Basketball Player of the Year Awards prior to his transfer to the Pacific Northwest. 

"Hepa impacts the game in so many ways, and he's a great team guy," Monroe Catholic head coach Frank Ostanik said, per the Daily News-Miner's Danny Martin. 

"You have to guard him out to the 3-point line and if you double him, he has extraordinary vision and easily finds his teammates. I rarely ever see him take a bad shot."

As Ostanik implied, Hepa has the skills necessary to be a modern-day stretch 4. Not only is he capable of holding his own in the post on both ends, but he's capable of popping out for quick-trigger threes from deep or curling off screens to knock down long-range attempts. 

Hepa's vision also stands out on film thanks to his ability to see over defenders and find open backdoor cutters at 6'9". He picked Texas after taking an official visit to the school on Sept. 1, one week before he also visited Gonzaga. 

Now entering his third season as head coach at Texas, Shaka Smart is doing an excellent job of loading up his roster for 2018. Hepa is their fourth commit for next year's recruiting class, which is already ranked in the top 20 nationally by 247Sports. 

With the Longhorns coming off an 11-22 record last season, it was unclear what kind of long-term impact Smart would have on the program. He still has to get the talent on the court to perform, but his ability to construct a talented roster has Texas moving in the right direction.