Rumor Mill Churns Out Powerful Talk
Yes, that was North Idaho College men’s basketball coach Hugh Watson mentioned in the first four paragraphs of a front-page article in Tuesday’s Chicago Tribune sports section.
Why? Watson recounted Iowa State’s recruitment of NIC point guard Nathaniel Bailey, who originally signed at ISU, but changed his mind because of rumors linking coach Tim Floyd to the Chicago Bulls job.
Bailey’s situation was used in the article as an example of how rumors have impaired Floyd’s recruiting.
There were two errors in the opening paragraph - the writer referred to NIC as Northern Idaho Community College and to Bailey as NIC’s “spark.” The only sparks ignited by the Texas-bound Bailey were when his jump shots clanged off the rim. He shot just 39.9 percent - 26 percent on 3s - and had 122 turnovers vs. 119 assists.
Panhandling
Mixed previews on Idaho football. The Sporting News pegs Idaho as the 112th best football team in Division I-A. That’s out of, uhm, 112 teams. Ouch.
Other mags were slightly kinder, listing UI in the 100s and as high as fourth in the six-team Big West.
Off the field, the Vandals received some good news, even if it wasn’t on their team. Louisiana State, which is paying Idaho dearly for the right to thump the Vandals on Sept. 26 in Baton Rouge, recently dismissed star running back Cecil Collins after his arrest for unauthorized entry and sexual battery.
Collins was third in the nation at 149 yards per game last seson before suffering a broken leg and injuring two ankle ligaments last October. By the way, most magazines predict LSU in the top 10.
Amazing how much talent passes through college courts in Idaho. Last year Pacific’s Michael Olowokandi, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, put on a memorable show in the Kibbie Dome, scoring 31 points.
A few years ago, Keon Clark, then a gangly center at Dixie College, played against NIC. Clark went on to UNLV and was taken by Orlando with the 13th pick of the draft.
Idaho’s best pro prospect since Orlando Lightfoot, senior-to-be point guard Avery Curry, should be able to play in the pros, but it will likely be overseas.
NIC wrestling, already having a solid recruiting year, just got a lot better. Andy Roberts, a three-time state champ from Spokane and the youngest of three talented wrestling brothers, is transferring to NIC. He’ll probably wrestle at 141 pounds.
Roberts went to the University of Oregon, but he struggled in the classroom. He will be a redshirt freshman at NIC.
NIC coach Pat Whitcomb is trying to land Andy’s older brother, Kevin, who completed his eligibility at Oregon two years ago, as an assistant coach. Roger Neff, an NIC heavyweight last year, will be a volunteer assistant.
Former assistants Matt Janke and Orlando Jordan will not be back.
My six-year-old daughter’s first T-ball games at Quad Park have been enjoyable - particularly when one boy rapped his cleats with the bat a la Griffey, another lad slid at home plate when the ball was in the outfield and my daughter informed me, “I don’t like being tagged with the ball.”
I figured out why they play the World Cup every four years. That way, they barely avoid overlapping.
Grad school
Former North Idaho College/Gonzaga University pitcher Steve Schorzman is 2-2 with a 6.25 ERA for the Single-A Hickory Crawdads, a White Sox farm club, in the South Atlantic League.
In 31.2 innings, Schorzman has allowed 27 hits, 22 earned runs, 15 walks and fanned 25.
Grad school, part II
Former Coeur d’Alene Viking Corissa Yasen, the best female prep athlete I’ve seen in this area in the last decade, will become an assistant basketball coach at Lake City High this fall if she doesn’t receive any pro offers. Yasen assisted at West Lafayette (Ind.) High last season while finishing up at Purdue University, helping the team win an Indiana state title.
Yasen was cut by the WNBA’s Sacramento Monarchs prior to the season opener.