Egan Looks To Step Out On Up Beat

It’s time for Luke Egan’s last stand.

And despite the litany of disappointments the 6-foot-7 senior has endured during his four years at Eastern Washington, he’s not about to make that stand meekly.

“I’ve been here four years and watched other seniors go through the same thing,” Egan said Wednesday, in anticipation of his final Reese Court appearance in tonight’s 7:05 Big Sky Conference game with Idaho State. “It seemed like it would be an eternity before it actually happened to me, but now it’s coming around.

“I’ve got one more game left, and the biggest thing for me is to get one more win before my career is over with. That’s my main focus - nothing else.”

Egan and Travis King, a second-year transfer from Walla Walla Community College, will be the only EWU seniors saying farewell tonight when the Eagles (6-19 overall, 2-13 in the Big Sky) drop the curtain on a season marked by tragedy and disappointment.

Both have experienced life at the bottom of college basketball’s competitive cauldron, but Egan has been wallowing for four full seasons.

Since coming to Eastern as a freshman out of Parade College High School in Melbourne, Australia, in 1993, Egan has been involved in 103 basketball games. He has been on the winning side only 20 times.

This year, with second-year coach Steve Aggers bringing in eight new recruits, was supposed to be different. But the early season loss of point guard Rod McClure, who was killed in a traffic accident over Christmas break, and injuries to a couple of key starters launched an unexpected midseason losing skid that has reached 11 games.

Such on-the-court futility might sour most student-athletes on the college experience. But Egan, a chemistry major and three-time Big Sky All-Academic selection, remains upbeat.

“Obviously, I’ve had my share of losses,” he admitted, “but I’ve learned a lot from them, too. When you’re winning, life’s easy and everything’s fine, but I think I’ve learned more about myself by staying here four years and persisting - and, hopefully, that will help me through the rest of my life.

“I’ve had a lot of losses, but I’ve also met a helluva lot of nice people and the experience has been better than any I’ve ever had.”

Egan, who plans to return to Eastern next fall to finish work on his degree, said he hopes to eventually play basketball professionally in his homeland.

His modest per-game averages of 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds might suggest his dreams are just that - dreams. But both Egan and Aggers seem confident Egan’s goal can be obtained.

“Two or three (professional) teams down there are having a bit of a look at me,” Egan said. “I’m very confident I’ll be able to play down there. Even though we weren’t that good (at Eastern), collegiate ball helps you at any level.”

Aggers is impressed with the way Egan has handled adversity and improved himself as a basketball player by becoming a fixture in the weight room and increasing his strength and endurance.

“He’s suffered a lot, having had to play for a couple of different coaches and at three different positions,” Aggers explained. “But for the most part, Luke has been very positive and upbeat his entire career here.

“He’s extremely social - maybe early in his career, even a little too social. But this past year, he has pretty much rededicated his life and made a commitment to his athletic career. It’s just a shame that we didn’t have him for four years.”

Last act for UI seniors

Idaho closes its home schedule tonight against Long Beach State. The Vandals’ season finale is Sunday against Boise State at the BSU Pavilion.

The careers of seniors Reggie Rose, Jason Jackman and Eddie Turner end in varying ways.

The three JC transfers will be honored at a pregame ceremony.

Rose will be on the bench with a knee injury.

Jackman has had a big season after an inconsistent junior campaign. He leads the Vandals with averages of 17.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 82-percent free-throw shooting. He was UI’s top scorer in 18 of 28 games. Beyond the numbers, Jackman consistently gave outstanding effort, regardless of the score.

After a slow start, Turner is playing his best basketball. He is averaging 13.2 points in conference, lifting his overall average to 11.6. A deadly shooter off the dribble, Turner also has been a defensive standout.

“Our team has hung together great,’ UI coach Kermit Davis said. “They’ve handled it (a mercurial season) very well.”

WCC on the tube

The West Coast Conference will get plenty of air time when it stages its postseason tournaments at Loyola Marymount’s Albert Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles.

Fox Sports Northwest will provide live television coverage Sunday of the women’s championship game, which starts at noon, and both men’s semifinals, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Monday’s 9 p.m. men’s title game will be televised live nationally by ESPN.

Around the leagues

Senior point guard Travis King’s 95 career 3-pointers are the most by a two-year transfer player at Eastern Washington and rank sixth on the school’s all-time list… . KXLY-TV’s Dennis Patchin will take over the play-by-play radio broadcasts of Gonzaga’s WCC tournament games this weekend in place of Dick Wright, who is still recovering from cancer surgery.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: AREA LEADERS

Scoring Player, school FG-FGA FT-FTA 3pt. Avg. Isaac Fontaine, WSU 188-381 129-165 61 21.8 Jason Jackman, UI 175-327 139-169 0 17.5 Ben Heimerman, Whit 140-205 114-145 3 16.5 Lorenzo Rollins, GU 150-338 70-88 36 15.6 Nate Williams, Whit 108-188 62-73 46 15.4 Carlos Daniel, WSU 135-269 93-133 0 14.5 Matt Santangelo, GU 123-278 57-82 46 13.4 Jeff Mix, Whit 129-213 56-86 4 13.3 Travis King, EWU 95-230 57-78 53 12.0 Karim Scott, EWU 117-218 60-100 0 11.8 Bakari Hendrix, GU 118-222 70-103 0 11.8

Rebounding Heimerman, Whit, 8.5 (203); Daniel, WSU, 8.4 (209); Mix, Whit, 7.2 (173); Karim Scott, EWU, 6.2 (154); Jackman, 6.1 (170).

Assists Santangelo, GU, 4.4 (113); Sean Weston, Whit, 4.3 (103); King, EWU, 3.7 (92); Williams, Whit, 3.2 (67); Gabe Jones, Whit, 3.2 (76).

Steals Weston, Whit, 1.9 (45); Derek Elliott, UI, 1.9 (42); Rollins, GU, 1.8 (42); Gabe Jones, Whit, 1.7 (41); King, EWU, 1.6 (39).

Tonight’s schedule Washington State at Arizona, 5:37 p.m.; Idaho State at Eastern Washington, 7:05 p.m.; Long Beach State at Idaho, 7:05 p.m.