Connected by the NCAAs: Jake Groves, Tyson Degenhart and Maisie Burnham celebrate bids while cheering on teams back home
The madness isn’t limited to Eastern Washington, Washington State and Gonzaga.
This March, there’s plenty of NCAA basketball to go around for several players and coaches with local ties.
“That’s all about being hoop city right there – Hooptown USA,” said Jake Groves, who helped Virginia and former WSU head coach Tony Bennett advance to this week’s NCAA Tournament. Groves played at Shadle Park High School and previously played at EWU and Oklahoma.
In addition to Groves, Tyson Degenhart of Boise State and Maisie Burnham from Portland will make repeat trips to the NCAAs this week as starters for their respective teams. Degenhart is in his third season at BSU out of Mt. Spokane – all have yielded NCAA tourney berths – and Burnham is a junior for the Pilots.
“I still feel very connected to the city,” says Degenhart, a first-team All-Mountain West Conference player. “I do take a lot of pride – I’m really proud of where I’m from. I’ve seen a lot of great basketball teams and players come through Spokane, and to be interlocked with them is a huge honor.”
Burnham, from Spangle, started her career at EWU before moving on to Portland for the past two seasons. Portland, which beat Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament title game, is a No. 13 seed and plays at Kansas State on Friday. Burnham’s parents, Cheri (Soliday) Burnham and Blaze Burnham were State B legends.
“These are memories that I will tell my grandkids about,” Burnham said about playing in two NCAA Tournaments. “There are moments that every basketball player lives for.
“You know, if you would’ve told me when I was young that I would be in this position today, I don’t know if I would’ve believed you,” the junior guard said after scoring 15 points in the WCC title game. “I don’t know how more grateful I could be.”
Groves’ teammate at Virginia is freshman big man Blake Buchanan out of Lake City High School in Coeur d’Alene. Virginia plays Colorado State on Tuesday in a First Four game.
Degenhart’s Boise State team is loaded with local ties – Leon Rice is the head coach, Max Rice is a sixth-year senior standout and Kade Rice is a redshirt freshman seeing action off the bench. Rice’s sons grew up in Spokane when he was an assistant at Gonzaga from 1999 to 2010.
Former Eastern head coach Mike Burns is on Rice’s staff, joined by Roberto Bergersen – a recent EWU assistant – and Larry Eustachy, a former Idaho head coach. Boise State takes on Colorado – and former GU assistant Bill Grier – in a First Four game on Wednesday.
Among some other local ties in the NCAAs:
• The EWU women’s team features Lewis and Clark High School graduate Jacinta Buckley, a transfer from UNLV who scored 20 points and had 11 rebounds in the Big Sky Conference Championship game a week ago. The Eagles are a No. 14 seed and play at Oregon State on Friday.
• Anton Watson, along with fellow Gonzaga Prep product Joe Few, will hit the court for GU against McNeese State on Thursday.
• Former Gonzaga coach Dan Monson, who was fired before leading Long Beach State to the NCAA Tournament, faces off against former GU assistant Tommy Lloyd and Arizona, also on Thursday.
• Former Whitworth head coach Matt Logie will lead his Montana State Bobcats in Wednesday’s NCAA play-in game against Grambling State.
• Ex-Mead standout Stacy Clinesmith is a longtime assistant for the Gonzaga women’s team, which plays its first-round game on Saturday at McCarthey Athletic Center. Former West Valley and Gonzaga player Shaniqua Nilles is the team’s administrative assistant.
• Former high-scoring Central Valley High School star Dylan Darling has only played three games for Washington State this season because of a back injury. He averaged 33.2 points as a senior at CV.
• And let’s not forget the University of Idaho, which is joining forces with the Spokane Arena to host NCAA subregional games starting Friday.
The connections run even deeper, with players from out-of-town schools rooting on their local colleges.
“It’s really cool to see Wazzu’s success – Coach (Kyle) Smith is a great coach and I’m really happy for him and his team,” Degenhart said. “They are really talented and have a lot of size inside, and can really shoot it from the guard spots. They are playing really well – to beat Arizona twice in the same season is a huge accomplishment. ”
Groves, who last went to the NCAA Tournament with Eastern in 2021, is excited to be back. He says he looked into WSU when he and older brother Tanner entered the transfer portal, before they settled on Oklahoma.
He remains a fan of EWU, WSU and GU.
“I definitely watch – I watch my Eags all the time,” Groves said. “I’m still a big Eastern fan so I watch pretty much every game they play. I watch a few Zags games, but I’m missing seeing Steele Venters (an EWU transfer who missed the season with a torn ACL) out there. But I know in the coming years I’ll definitely be watching a lot of Gonzaga games considering Steele is still there.
“I caught a few Cougs games as well. I’m just a huge hoops guy – I love watching college basketball. Whenever those teams are on and I’m just hanging out, I’ll watch.”