Mike Sando

WSU's Isaac Fontaine puts the heat on USC's Rodrick Rhodes but the Trojan senior led the winning rally. Photo by Associated Press

USC might need victories here tonight and in Seattle on Saturday to secure a berth in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. UCLA needs a Northwest sweep to ensure a more-favorable tournament seeding. And Washington State? The Cougars, it has become obvious, need a recruiting sweep for the final week of the Pacific-10 Conference schedule to regain the significance it has held in recent seasons. Early returns suggest the Cougars have taken at least one step toward that end. Fresno City College wing Ron Selleaze, one of three recruits signed by WSU in the fall, has emerged as one of the best junior-college players in California. Thanks to several unexpected defections, WSU desperately could have used the 6-foot-6, 200-pound Selleaze in time for this season, which concludes with visits from USC (tonight) and UCLA (Saturday). "He's quick, he can get into the lane, he's athletic - he's really what we don't have this year," WSU coach Kevin Eastman said this week. "I think he's going to be really good for us." Selleaze, who left two colleges before settling in at Fresno City, averages 15.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 57 percent from the field. He was named MVP of the Capital Valley Conference, beating out teammate Rafer Alston (17.3 points, 8.3 assists), a Fresno State signee. Selleaze and Alston have led the Rams, who have a 28-3 record, into this week's California junior-college tournament. Leif Nelson and Brian Stewart, a pair of 6-10 centers who also signed with WSU in the fall, have been less spectacular. Nelson averaged 11.4 points and 5.5 rebounds on a 23-7 Utah Valley Community College team. But the 280-pounder was often out of place in a conference known more for its athleticism than muscle. "He's a big-bodied kid and he has some skill to him," said Eastman, who compares Nelson to University of Washington wide-body Todd MacCulloch. "I think as he goes up levels and plays against bigger kids, he'll be more effective." Stewart, a senior at Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, Ariz., is considered a project and will probably redshirt next season. He had nine points, 17 rebounds and six blocked shots during last weekend's overtime loss in the Arizona 5A championship game, fouling out with 5:21 left in regulation. On the season, Stewart averaged 11 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks per game. The 220-pounder has fairly soft hands and surprising leaping ability, but does not yet possess many offensive skills. With size 21 feet, some believe he hasn't finished growing. In addition to Selleaze, Nelson and Stewart, Eastman said he expects to fill WSU's remaining two scholarship slots with a versatile guard and athletic forward. Eastman dismisses Richmond rumor If former Idaho coach Tim Floyd can be rumored as the next coach of the Chicago Bulls, it should be no surprise that Eastman has been mentioned privately among coaches in relation to the impending opening at the University of Richmond. But Eastman said he doesn't envision leaving Washington State for his alma mater, or anywhere, in the near future. "There's nothing to it," Eastman said. "We like it here. I could see myself being here for quite a while. "People think that you're not supposed to like Pullman or something. (Wife) Wendy's got a number of close friends here; (son) Jake likes it." Richmond fired Bill Dooley, Eastman's friend and fellow Richmond alumnus, Wednesday. The move was not unexpected. After consecutive 8-20 seasons, the Spiders are 13-15 this winter and tied for seventh place in the Colonial Athletic Association. Tournament talk How many Pac-10 teams will be invited to the NCAA Tournament? At least three, and as many as five. UCLA (19-7, 13-3 Pac-10) and Arizona (19-7, 11-5) are safe. The Bruins already have secured the automatic berth - season sweeps against Arizona and USC give them the tiebreaker - while the Wildcats possess non-conference victories over North Carolina and Utah. California (19-8, 10-6), even without injured star Ed Gray, will most likely get in. All bets are off should the Bears lose their final two games - an unlikely proposition, considering Arizona State must visit Berkeley for the final game at historic Harmon Gym. Stanford (18-7, 10-6), USC (16-9, 11-5) and Washington (16-9, 9-7) have the most to play for this weekend. "Are we in the tournament?" Stanford guard Brevin Knight said. "No, not right now. A lot depends on how we finish in the Pac-10. We can still finish anywhere from second to sixth. "If we lose two (against the Arizona schools), we put ourselves in a bad position. If we win two, we're in." Two of Stanford's victories came against Division II AlaskaAnchorage and therefore will not be considered by the NCAA selection committee. A split this weekend would leave the Cardinal at an NCAA-adjusted 17-8 overall and 11-7 in the Pac-10 - and on the bubble. USC would almost certainly be invited if it sweeps WSU and UW. With a split or less, the Trojans would probably need help. The Huskies will be considered if they sweep UCLA and USC, and if Stanford plays itself out of consideration. But UW, like Oregon (16-10, 7-10), is more likely to end up in the NIT. Eastman said he expects at least four Pac-10 teams to make the NCAAs. Pengelly to start Freshman point guard Blake Pengelly will make his fourth start of the season tonight for WSU. Senior Kareem Jackson might play, but remains limited after suffering a concussion last Thursday against Arizona.

WSU's Beau Archibald, left, and Cameron Jacobson put up a road block to stop ASU's Mike Batiste. Photo by Associated Press

Arizona's Mike Bibby, who produced only six points, finds the going easy in the first half as he swoops past WSU's Carlos Daniel for an uncontested basket. Photo by Associated Press

Beating 25th-ranked California and Ed Gray was one thing. Staying within double digits at No. 15 Arizona is quite another. This is not news to Washington State, which is rightfully concerned as it braces for tonight's Pacific-10 Conference basketball game at merciless McKale Center.

Southeast B It was hardly what his coach might have drawn up, but Troy Nealey's fadeaway 28-footer at the halftime buzzer was precisely what LaCrosse-Washtucna needed Tuesday night. "I think that was just fate right there," said Nealey, a 6-foot-1 senior. "Right when I hit that, I knew that was the game right there."

(From Replay, February 24, 1997): California guard Ed Gray suffered a broken foot with 1:14 left in Saturday's Pac-10 men's basketball loss to Washington State. Also with 1:14 left, Gray suffered a cut forearm, prompting the Bears to call time out. The times were incorrect in Saturday's report. 1. Fontaine 2. Isaac Fontaine slips past Kenyon Jones for a first-half hoop. Photo by Associated Press

The afternoon will most likely belong to Isaac Fontaine, who needs just nine points to become the most prolific scorer in Washington State men's basketball history. The season could end up belonging to 25th-ranked California.

There were stretches Thursday night when Washington State played with renewed enthusiasm, scarcely resembling the team that had lost eight of nine basketball games coming in. The problem, at least from the Cougars' perspective, was that Stanford's efficiency was distributed far more evenly.

Reaching the heights. Isaac Fontaine soars above his defender to score two of his 1,860 points for Washington State's men's basketball team. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Isaac Fontaine and Washington State have no answers against Deon Luton and Washington. Photo by Associated Press

Washington State basketball coach Kevin Eastman kept his promise to increase the intensity in practice after Tuesday night's loss at Idaho, but stopped short of shaking up his lineup for tonight's Pacific-10 Conference matchup at Washington. "He ran us and we did a lot of hard stuff, but I thought it was going to be a lot worse," senior guard Isaac Fontaine said Friday, having survived Wednesday's closed-door, take-no-prisoners practice. Senior Kareem Jackson remains the starting point guard, although freshman Blake Pengelly has been more effective recently and will likely be the first player off the bench. At least one of them must play well if the Cougars (11-12, 3-8 Pac-10), having lost seven of their last eight, are to upset the Huskies (13-7, 6-5) at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. "There's a reason for why that lineup is the way it is," said Fontaine. "One game or a week of practice normally doesn't change a whole team or lineup around. "I think you keep (Jackson) in just for leadership and being that Blake's never been in that place - it's really hostile." WSU's most dramatic dropoff has come from its bench, Pengelly's contributions aside. Freshman wing Beau Archibald, who scored 10 points against UW last time, has just eight points in his last five games. He won't play tonight, the result of an ear infection. That should mean additional playing time for freshman Chris Crosby, who scored eight points against Idaho but remains inconsistent. WSU's month-long slump began with a 74-72 home loss to the Huskies, a game the Cougars played minus Carlos Daniel. In Daniel's absence (the junior forward was serving a one-game suspension for shoplifting), UW 7-footer Todd MacCulloch overpowered WSU for 20 points and 16 rebounds. MacCulloch has struggled since then, however, while Daniel, averaging 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, continues to play well. Notes Archibald's absence, coupled with last week's dismissal of senior forward Tavares Mack, leaves WSU with 10 players. . . . Radio announcer Bud Nameck, who missed the last two games while visiting his ill mother, expects to return tonight. . . . The parents of starting guard Rodrigo de la Fuente plan to attend tonight's game, marking the first time the natives of Madrid, Spain, will have seen their son play in a WSU uniform. . . . Pengelly has made 44.4 percent of his 3-pointers and ranks second in the Pac-10. . . . Daniel continues to lead the conference in rebounding and is fourth in blocks (1.6 per game), while Fontaine is second in scoring (21.6).

There was Washington State's Francesca Green, winning the women's long jump and 55 meters, and teammate Rasto Kiplangat, taking the men's 800 in a time that qualified him for the NCAA Track and Field Championships. There was WSU's Bernard Lagat, shaving nearly 17 seconds off his 3,000 time, crossing the finish line in 8 minutes, 5.43 seconds and blowing away the rest of the Vandal Indoor Invitational field Friday night.

There was Washington State's Francesca Green, winning the women's long jump and 55 meters, and teammate Rasto Kiplangat, taking the men's 800 in a time that qualified him for the NCAA Track and Field Championships. There was WSU's Bernard Lagat, shaving nearly 17 seconds off his 3,000 time, crossing the finish line in 8 minutes, 5.43 seconds and blowing away the rest of the Vandal Indoor Invitational field Friday night.

Reggie Rose, once counted out by almost everyone but himself, earned a few more converts Thursday night. "We certainly did not have it in our minds to prepare for him like his old self," North Texas basketball coach Tim Jankovich said, moments after Rose sparked Idaho to a 67-58 victory over his Eagles. "He's been out so many weeks, I understand with a knee injury - I figured that out with the brace."

Oregon's Jamar Curry leaves behind Rodrigo de la Fuente. Photo by Associated Press

Washington State senior Tavares Mack was apparently tired of going through the motions. Coach Kevin Eastman was tired of watching Mack go through the motions. So there was probably more relief than surprise Saturday when Mack missed the pregame shootaround and was dismissed from the team, this time for good.

Oregon State basketball coach Eddie Payne said his team won because it played great defense. Washington State's Kevin Eastman believed his team lost because it played without energy. They were both right. The Beavers beat the Cougars 61-49 Thursday night in Gill Coliseum, holding WSU to season-lows in points and field-goal percentage. WSU's loss, its fifth in six games, means the Cougars will take a 3-7 conference record into Saturday night's visit to Oregon's McArthur Court - one of the toughest places to play in the Pac-10.

Washington State football coach Mike Price introduced the Cougars' latest recruiting class on national letter-of-intent day Wednesday, a mix of 11 freshmen and three junior-college players. The 1997 class differs from recent ones in that it includes no Prop. 48 recruits, a result of the new Pacific-10 Conference rule forbidding academic non-qualifiers.

Washington State University has received commitments from at least 15 football recruits and is expected to announce the signings today, sources confirmed Tuesday. The Cougars had only 17 scholarships to offer this year, primarily because there were just 12 seniors on scholarship last season. The two remaining scholarships are expected to be filled sometime after Thursday, when the NCAA "dead period" ends.

1. Lynn Archibald, center, with his wife, Anne, left, and daughter, Lee Anne, has spent a lot of time watching his son, Beau, play basketball at WSU this season. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review 2. "It's not going to go away, so you just have to take it," freshman Beau Archibald says of his father's terminal illness. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 3. Beau Archibald, right, is a creator on the court, always reaching for opportunities as he did during Saturday's 74-55 win over Arizona State. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Washington State's Rodrigo de la Fuente cradles the ball after a first-half scramble as ASU's Mike Batiste hangs on. The Cougars retained possession. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Arizona sends an early message to WSU as Bennett Davison dunks on Cameron Johnson on the first play of the game. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Stanford was bigger, quicker, deeper and livelier. Washington State was in serious trouble. The 17th-ranked Cardinal scored the first 12 points Saturday and presented more problems than WSU had answers, solving the Cougars 81-61 before 7,231 in Maples Pavilion. The victory upped the Cardinal to 6-2 in the Pacific-10 Conference, one-half game behind UCLA. WSU fell to 2-5 and has lost three straight. Afterward, WSU coach Kevin Eastman called Stanford the best team his Cougars have faced all season, even if the Cardinal can play better (see: Stanford 109, UCLA 61). "They're better than Georgia," Eastman said. "I think they'd beat Michigan, who we've also played, in a series. "They have all the parts - good big guy (Tim Young), good point guard (Brevin Knight) and two other things you have to have: shooters and passers."