The Portland men's basketball program has signed two high school seniors and one transfer to national letters of intent. The announcement came today from Head Coach Michael Holton. The Pilots have landed Dreshawn Vance, a 6-8, forward from Walnut High School and Walnut Calif.; Sean Smith, a 6-2, 190-pound shooting guard from Vancouver, Wash., and Hudson Bay High School; and Darren Cooper, a 6-3, 190-pound combo guard from Portland, Ore., and Eastern Washington University/Benson High School. On Apr. 16, Holton also received national letters of intent from Devin Peal of Kennedy High School and Richmond, Calif and Chris Jackson of Wollongong, Australia, rounding out this year’s recruiting class.

Vance averaged 16.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game last season, earning second-team all-CIF and first-team all-Valley San Gabriel Tribune recognition. He was also honored as Walnut High's and the San Antonio League's MVP. Vance was also an LA Times all-Region selection.

Smith led the state in scoring in 2002, averaging 24.8 points, 4.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. He shot 77 percent from the free-throw line, 43 percent from three-point range and 51 percent from the field last season. Smith was a first-team Greater St. Helen’s all-League pick in both his junior and senior campaigns, as well as a second-team all-State selection last year.

As a freshman at Eastern Washington, Cooper averaged 6.5 points per game. He made three starts in 30 games for the Eagles in 2000-01. The 6-3, 190-pound combo guard made 31.0 percent of his three-pointers and 90.0 percent of his free throws (led the Big Sky Conference). At Benson High School, Cooper was a first-team all-PIL selection and tallied 15.5 points, 3.7 assists and 1.6 boards per game.

“I’m confident we have addressed our team’s needs,” said Head Coach Michael Holton. “I’m extremely excited with how hard my staff has worked to assemble this class.”