Ellington

Half of the Terrences on the market are on board with the Washington men’s basketball team.

But that other 50 percent is turning out to be even trickier than the Huskies had imagined.

Terrence Ross, a top-100-rated, 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Portland, Ore., signed a national letter of intent on Friday to play for the UW next season at a press conference at Jefferson High School.

His teammate, though, the five-star, all-everything, 6-foot-9 forward Terrence Jones, still remains unsigned after giving a verbal commitment to the UW at the same press conference, then changing his mind in the minutes following his decision.

A report in The Seattle Times says that Jones spoke with Kentucky coach John Calipari for a while after announcing he had chosen Washington, which may have helped sway him back into a state of indecision. It’s believed that if Jones hadn’t chosen UW, he would have gone to Kentucky.

And he still might. Nothing is final or binding until Jones signs a letter, and he has until May 19 to do so. He had narrowed his finalists to UW, Kentucky, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon and UCLA by Friday’s press conference.

As of Sunday, there was no change in Jones’ status. Kentucky and Washington fan message boards are going crazy with anticipation, some growing frustrated after an already-lengthy recruitment process was prolonged even more due to Jones’ indecision.

Ross by himself, though, is a big pick-up for the Huskies. He was considered by every major recruiting outlet to be one of the 100-best high-school players in the country, and many believed that he and Jones would choose the same school.

Ross told reporters Friday he decided to come to the UW about a month ago after watching the Huskies beat Marquette in the NCAA tournament.

“Terrence Ross is rare in that he possesses a high-level combination of athleticism and is yet an outstanding shooter,” UW head coach Lorenzo Romar said in a statement. “He’s just scratching the surface as how good he can be. He will definitely help with us trying to become a better-shooting basketball team. He gives us instant help in that regard. He also has great size and fits right in with what we’re trying to do defensively.”

Romar is scheduled to meet with the media today at 3:30 p.m. to discuss Ross’ signing. He can’t comment on Jones, though, until he officially signs with a school. Unsigned athletes are considered recruitable and cannot be discussed publicly by players or coaches.

Washington has one scholarship available after signing Ross, junior-college transfer Aziz N’Diaye, and Richmond, Calif., product Desmond Simmons.

Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.