Valparaiso men’s basketball head coach Bryce Drew announced today that Alex Rossi, a 6’6” guard from Winnetka, Ill., has committed to join the Crusader program.  Rossi comes to Valpo after spending the last two years at the University of California.

Rossi sat out the 2010-2011 season at Cal as a medical redshirt before using his first season of eligibility with the Golden Bears in 2011-2012.  Rossi arrived at Cal after being ranked as the 36^th-best shooting guard nationally in the Class of 2010.   He was noted as one of the top-10 shooters in his class by ESPN.com and also participated in the NBA Top 100 camp.  In his senior year at New Trier H.S., Rossi was honored as a Second Team All-State recipient and the Central Suburban League Player of the Year.  The Chicago-area product was also an Honorable Mention All-State honoree as a junior and three times earned All-Conference honors for the Trevians.

“Alex is a great shooter who can really stretch the defense,” said Drew.  “He has very long arms, which helps him on both offense and defense.  Besides being a tremendous player, Alex is a great person off the court as well.  He served as president of the Pac-12 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and also carries a GPA over 3.0.”

Rossi becomes the fourth player to commit to the Crusader men’s basketball program during the spring signing period, joining David Chadwick, Jordan Coleman and LaVonte Dority.