Matt Gipson, a 6-9 forward at North Idaho, made a verbal commitment to Hawaii for the 2004-05 season.

Gipson transferred to North Idaho after spending two years at Oklahoma. He redshirted his first year, then saw limited playing time in 2002-03, averaging 1.9 points and 1.1 minutes in 5 minutes over 18 games for the Sooners.

As a senior at Burkburnett (TX) HS in 2000-01, Gipson averaged 23.4 points and 9.2 rebounds, drawing interest from UCLA, Utah and Texas Tech as well as Oklahoma.

He enters this season ranked #3 among the nation's JUCO power forwards by NBADraft.net (Matthew Maurer) and #6 among centers by Lindy's (Van Coleman).

Gipson chose Hawaii over current interest from Gonzaga, Utah, Florida Atlantic and Virginia Tech. He plans to sign a national letter of intent next month and have two years on eligibility with the Rainbow Warriors.