Stanback talks Stanford commitment

Stanford's men's basketball program landed its first commitment of the 2016 class on Monday when Rivals100 post Trevor Stanback announced his pledge to the Cardinal.

I Am excited to say I have verbally committed to Stanford! Thank you to everyone who supported me! #FearTheTree 🌲🏀 pic.twitter.com/qoamHBahDn— t-rev (@tstanback16) November 3, 2015

The four-star Southern California standout chose the Cardinal over finalists San Diego State and Colorado as well as offers from several other programs.

"Definitely the academics, of course, and I'll definitely get a chance to develop as a player and a person," Stanback said. "Both the coaching staff and the team were great and I had a great time on my visit."

Stanback informed the Cardinal coaches of his choice on Sunday night.

"I had decided around 7 (Sunday) night and then I called Coach Dawkins after that," Stanback said. "He was really excited. We definitely both were. I had him on speaker phone so he talked to my mom as well. He said that he was looking forward to coaching me and the next four years."

While Stanford had factored prominently into Stanback's thinking for some time, he said he didn't actually, definitively know the Cardinal would be his choice until Sunday.

"Actually (Sunday) was the deciding factor," Stanback said. "All the schools were pretty even up until that point. I talked it over with both of my parents and it was a unanimous decision on me going to Stanford."

Stanback will bring some versatility to The Farm. He has the size to fight for rebounds and score in the paint, but is also developing a perimeter game. It's still somewhat unclear how, exactly, the four-star standout will fit into Stanford's system when he arrives on campus, but there could be an opportunity for him to contribute early.

"They said that I could get some playing time coming in as a freshman as long as I work hard and earn the minutes," Stanback said. "They do have a seven-footer (in Josh Sharma). So I could either play behind him or play on the perimeter."

Stanback doesn't currently have any return trips set to The Farm before he returns permanently next summer, but he'd like to make it back to campus if the opportunity presents itself.

Stanback plans to make his decision official and sign his Letter of Intent next week during the Early Signing Period.

What part of attending and playing basketball at Stanford is the Rivals100 prospect most looking forward to experiencing?

"Definitely getting to play at a college level against great teams in front of a big crowd and just moving on to the next chapter of my life, setting myself up for excellence on and off the court," Stanback said.