Big Sky School Signs Valley’s DeLaittre

Shawn DeLaittre, a former Valley College and Simi Valley High standout, has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Eastern Washington University of the Big Sky Conference.

DeLaittre signed Monday after a recent visit to the school. He will enter Eastern Washington as an academic junior after earning an associate of arts degree at Valley in the spring. He has three years of athletic eligibility remaining.

Eastern Washington narrowly missed a berth in the NCAA tournament last season. The Eagles (18-11) placed second in the Big Sky with an 11-5 record before losing, 65-62, to Idaho in the conference tournament final. The Eagles are scheduled to play Cal State Northridge at home Jan. 31 and at Northridge the following season.

Eastern Washington’s location in Cheney, just outside Spokane, and the opportunity to play right away for first-year Coach John Wade helped DeLaittre choose the school. He said he also had been recruited by USC, Nevada Reno, Texas A&M; and North Carolina Wilmington.

“USC was talking to me but I probably will get more playing time at Eastern Washington,” DeLaittre said Tuesday. “Coach Wade is a great guy and he’s probably the main reason I went there. I’m kind of a California boy so it may take a while to get used to life there. But the people treated me well and it seems like a great place to live and go to school.”

DeLaittre, a 6-foot-5 swingman, came to Wade’s attention when assistant Coach Rusty Smith left CSUN to join the EWU staff in June. Smith had recruited DeLaittre for CSUN and Wade then scouted the player at a camp in Washington last month.

DeLaittre won the three-point shot competition and excelled in his first game at the camp, scoring 37 points, including eight three-point baskets.

He starred for three seasons at Simi Valley alongside Don MacLean, now at UCLA. DeLaittre was a three-time All-Southern Section 4-A Division selection and led the Pioneers to the Southern Section title his senior season. He averaged 22.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game that season.

DeLaittre left Simi Valley as the school’s second all-time leading scorer--behind MacLean--with 1,704 points. He ranks third in school history in rebounds with 742, trailing MacLean and his father, Larry DeLaittre, who played in the 1960s.

Shawn DeLaittre signed out of high school with Cal Poly San Luis Obispo but redshirted his freshman year before transferring to Valley. Last season he led the Monarchs to a 22-10 record and was an All-Western State Conference selection. In conference play, he averaged 17.5 points and 8.4 rebounds.