The high school basketball season hasn't even begun, but already White Rock Christian Academy senior Riley Barker has his future locked up, after verbally agreeing to play next fall for the University of Portland Pilots.

The six-foot-nine inch forward chose the NCAA Div. 1 school last week, ending what was a busy summer of fielding recruiting calls and talking with prospective coaches.

"Interest really picked up in the summer when I was playing for the provincial (U17) team because we went on a lot of trips and played in a lot of big tournaments," Barker said Tuesday in the gym at WRCA, right before heading outside to supervise a Grade 5 gym class as part of his teaching assistant course.

"At times it was actually a little bit frustrating, because even after I'd already chosen what school I wanted to go to, I still had coaches calling and e-mailing me. I actually got just got another call from a coach, but I had to tell him I'd already decided on Portland."

Though interest in Barker was high on both sides of the border – and from Div. 1 and Div. 2 schools – the decision to join the Pilots was an easy one for the White Rock senior to make after his official visit in August.

"I just like the size of the school – it's small, only about 3,000 students, and there's no football team, so basketball is one of the major sports," Barker explained.

"And recently, the basketball team has really been rising through the ranks, so it was a pretty obvious choice for me."

Barker can't officially sign with the Pilots until the NCAA's early recruiting window opens in mid-November.

For the past few seasons, Barker has been a key member of the WRCA Warriors senior boys team, and last year – averaging double digits in points and rebounds – he helped the team to a fourth place finish at B.C. Championships.

Along the way, he was named MVP of the fabled Surrey RCMP tournament, and also picked up a slew of first and second team all-star nods.

WRCA head coach John Dykstra, now in his second year at the helm of the Warriors, wasn't surprised to see his star forward garner so much interest from college coaches.

"He's worked so hard to get better, and improve his strength and body – he's had personal trainers, he's followed a strict diet, and he's just trained very hard," Dykstra said.

"I know he's really excited, and now he's able to just focus on his last year of high school and the task at hand."

Though Barkers size is obvious and he's developed a deft touch with the basketball, both Dykstra and WRCA principal Dave Loewen are quick to praise his leadership and maturity.

Dykstra called Barker "the most coachable young man ever," while Loewen tells a story from a school retreat earlier in the week.

From last Sunday to Tuesday, WRCA's Grade 9-12 students travelled to Princeton's RockRidge Canyon Young Life retreat, where students participated in a variety of leadership and team-building exercises. Students stayed together in dorms, and at the end of the stay, were required to clean the rooms top to bottom.

"Right away, Riley went into his room and grabbed the toilet brush," Loewen explained.

"Some other guys jumped in to help, too, but when you've got one guy who right away volunteers to do the worst job, everybody else follows.

"That's just the kind of guy he is."

For his part, Barker brushes off the compliments, and is instead focusing on improving his game for the upcoming basketball season, which begins in November.

"I've got a couple things I need to work on before I make the big leap to Portland next year, but when the time comes, I know I'm going to be ready," he said.