Kobe Paras receives offer from Division I NCAA school Fresno State

MANILA, Philippines – Kobe Paras’ goal of playing for a Division I school in the NCAA (US) has taken a major step forward.

The 6-foot-5 Filipino high school basketball star from Cathedral High School in Los Angeles, California has received an offer to play college hoops for the Fresno State University Bulldogs. (WATCH: Kobe Paras puts on dunking exhibition)

The news was announced by the Twitter account of NBA player Jerryd Bayless’ website, which was retweeted by Paras himself: 

6-5 Kobe Paras #Cathedral has picked up an offer from Fresno State. @Im_Not_Kobe tops in Cali @jerrydbayless

— Team Bayless (@Team_Bayless) September 18, 2014

Fresno State’s offer to the former La Salle Greenhills star was also noted by the Twitter account of omptonmagic.com – a non-profit organization – which Paras also RT’d.

6-5 Kobe Paras #Cathedral has just picked up an offer from Fresno State. @Im_Not_Kobe one of the Big national sleepers @coachmiddlebrks

— Compton Magic (@Compton_Magic) September 18, 2014

Not long ago, reports swirled around that Paras had received an offer from Division I school UC Irvine as well.

If Paras, who’s entering his senior campaign with Cathedral High School, accepts the offer presented by Fresno State, he would follow the same path as two-time NBA All-Star Paul George, who played for the Bulldogs from 2008-2010.

Paras has already made strides with Cathedral High School in Los Angeles. During a game in the DeMar DeRozan tournament this past June in Long Beach, California, the 16-year-old, 6-foot-5 star totaled 22 points and gathered enough buzz that the Los Angeles Times wrote a column on his performance.

A few months back, Paras was in the Philippines as he trained with the national U-18 basketball team for the 2014 FIBA Asia U-18 Championship in Doha, Qatar. The Philippine team finished the tournament in fifth place after beating Japan in overtime thanks to Paras, who scored 27 points and hit clutch baskets down the stretch that helped ensure victory.

Paras turns 17 tomorrow, September 19, Friday.

– Rappler.com