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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

G&T Blog matters: GU basketball, WSU football, WSU basketball

2:

Monday Fast Forward: Utah

In Mike Leach’s two full seasons as the Washington State football coach, no Pac-12 opponent has been as consistently memorable as Utah. In Leach’s first season the Cougars were embarrassed 49-6 in Rice-Eccles Stadium, the sixth loss in an eventual eight-game losing streak. Leach was so unhappy with the Cougars’ effort in the game that he made the unusual move of sending the entire offensive and defensive lines to speak to the media as units after the game.

The postgame setting following last year’s win over the Utes in Pullman could not have provided a starker juxtaposition as fans stormed the field when the Cougars attained bowl eligibility for the first time since 2006.

In Leach’s third year, the Utah game likely won’t have such an immediate reaction due to it being just the fifth game of the season, but it is a winnable game on the road against a well-coached opponent and should prove to be very important in the long term.

Jacob Thorpe

2: basketball

Tuesday: D.J. Shelton’s willingness to rebound and ability to hit the occasional 3-pointer made him a valuable player for Washington State during his three years in Pullman. While the Cougars did not find much success while Shelton was in school, he still has a chance to be remembered among a select group of former players who found success in the pros.

While Shelton went unselected in last week’s NBA draft, he will have a shot to impress professional teams while playing for Atlanta in the NBA summer league. The league’s regular season runs from July 11-15 with playoffs running from July 16-21.

Shelton will play alongside fellow Atlanta rookie Adreian Payne, who the Hawks made the 15th pick in the draft after watching him score 41 points for Michigan State against Delaware in Spokane during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Jacob Thorpe