Weber State junior Gelaun Wheelwright transfers; Wildcats guard line thin

Weber State announced the departure of junior combo guard Gelaun Wheelwright on Wednesday, a day after Wheelwright himself indicated as much on Twitter.

Wheelwright leaves the Wildcats after being a solid contributor in both of his first two years. The 6-1 guard from Corona, California originally committed to USC before ultimately landing at Weber State. He averaged 6.3 points and 1.6 assists as a sophomore.

The departure of Wheelwright leaves Weber State especially thin on ball handlers for the 2013-14 season. Scott Bamforth -- the school's all-time three-point shooter -- has graduated, and junior college guard transfers Abdulsamad Zaid and Wayne Bradford have left the program after redshirting last year.

That leaves incumbent starter Jordan Richardson, now a senior, and incoming three-star freshman Jeremy Senglin as the lone scholarship point guards on the roster. It is likely that Rahe will use his 2/3 combo guard Davion Berry, last year's leading scorer, to fill in at point guard in spurts.

But Senglin was likely set to see some playing time even with Wheelwright on the roster -- now, he'll be thrust into the fire. (First up, frosh: the 21,000-seat Marriott Center at BYU. No biggie.)

Weber will be deep at positions 3-5, but 2013-14 looks to be an adventure at the point and shooting guard positions.

RECRUITING HEALTHY FOR WEBER STATE

Beyond next season, though, coach Randy Rahe looks to keep Weber's profile on the rise by continuing to land Texas talent. The school recently finished hosting Lonestar recruits Omar Sherman, Corey Henderson, and Jeremiah Jefferson.

Sherman, a 6-foot-8 power forward, is rated as a four-star prospect by ESPN and Scout, and holds offers from Miami, Georgia Tech, and Wichita State. Henderson is a 6-foot-3, three-star recruit with offers from Wichita and Fresno State, while Jefferson is considered to be 6-foot-2 guard on the rise.

Yes, Weber State of the Big Sky Conference is now routinely attracting 3+ star recruits to Ogden, Utah.

Joel Bolomboy is currently the star of Rahe's 2012 class. The 6-foot-8, three-star forward from Keller, TX turned down New Mexico and Texas A&M to play for the Wildcats. Bolomboy finished his 2012-13 freshman season with a seven-point, seven-rebound average on 20 minutes per game while playing behind senior Frank Otis.

WSU's 2012 class also included Kyndahl Hill of Humble, TX. The 6-foot-7 Hill was a well-recruited defensive end in football and was starting to draw interest from Texas, LSU, and Oklahoma to play on the gridiron. Assumed to be a football recruit, he decided somewhat late to hang up his cleats in favor of basketball. Therefore under the radar as a hoops recruit, the athletic Hill chose Weber over UT-Arlington, Pepperdine, and Utah State.

A natural power forward, Hill redshirted last year with a glut of big men in front of him. First-hand reports of Weber practices placed Hill playing almost exclusively at the 3 with Rahe working hard to refine his ball-handling skills to create a versatile 3/4 hybrid.

Add 2013's three-star commits Senglin and shooting guard Richaud Gittens, and you've got quite a noteworthy recruiting rundown for a Big Sky team, even one of Weber's relatively rich history.

But that's a lot of talk about the future. The now for Weber State has become a little more questionable because of its guard situation. For a program on the cusp of greatness but struggling to make its breakthrough, a little more questionable is unsettling for the short-term outlook.