Farrar Gives Vandals Cause To Open Wallet

Idaho men’s basketball coach Dave Farrar did his job. It’s time for Idaho’s administration to do the same.

Farrar became a coaching free agent last week. In effect, he’s been something of a free agent since the season started.

He never signed his original contract because he didn’t agree to the terms. In effect, he’s been on a month-to-month contract.

Farrar wants a five-year contract. He wants to be compensated fairly (not the most in the Big West, but not the lowest either, he says). He currently makes about $75,000. He seeks something in the $85,000-$95,000 range annually. Boise State’s Rod Jensen makes $66,518.

Thus far, Idaho has been unwilling to go above $80,000.

Farrar also wants to assume an assistant athletic director’s role for about $20,000 per year, helping with marketing and development. You might remember the flap over a secretive $20,000 bonus given to previous coach Kermit Davis. Farrar wants to avoid a similar outcry.

His request to be an assistant A.D. might be beyond the radius of Farrar’s job. However, his Moscow-based attorney Craig Mosman believes it shows another level of Farrar’s desire to remain in Moscow.

Farrar wants to coach at least five more years at Idaho and then possibly retire.

Of course, everyone has heard that type of pledge before from UI basketball coaches, but this is from a 50-year-old man who doesn’t seem preoccupied with merging onto the coaching fast lane like ex-Vandals Tim Floyd and Davis.

Farrar offers concepts with which UI basketball isn’t - but should become - familiar with: stability, direction, cohesion.

He worked wonders with the Vandals, who looked so pitiful in their first exhibition game that one sportswriter - not me! - called them the worst Division I team he’d ever seen and predicted they’d win three games. I’ll come clean; I predicted eight or nine. UI won 15.

While Idaho is close to selecting an A.D., schools such as UC Santa Barbara and San Jose State are seeking basketball coaches.

It would be wise for UI’s next A.D., UI President Bob Hoover and/or whomever it takes, to swiftly lock up Farrar.

It’s time Idaho stopped the revolving door.

Panhandling

Kudos to KVNI (1080-AM) for broadcasting Lake City and Post Falls games at the State A-1 girls basketball tournament and Coeur d’Alene’s at the boys event. Kudos squared for having play-by-play man Jeff McLean at the mic instead of taking a feed, as it did during for the girls.

If 6-foot-9 Philip Dejworek would have been eligible last year at Coeur d’Alene, the Vikings would have had a front line of Dejworek, who averaged 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in his freshman season at the University of Portland, 6-6 Lukas O’Dowd and 6-6 Casey Hoorelbeke. Just wondering, wouldn’t that have been the best prep frontcourt ever in these parts? And wouldn’t CdA be two-time state champions?

The Idaho High School Activities Association denied the hardship waiver request of Dejworek, an exchange student from Germany by way of Mercer Island, Wash., and Eugene, Ore.

A Boise columnist after Idaho lost to Boise State 11 days ago at the BSU Pavilion: “Boise State’s cheerleaders - all 20 of them - ran all over the place for about three hours; Idaho’s were back in Moscow, the victim of who-knows-what-budget-cut excuse the school will use today.”

Nicely written. Too bad it’s inaccurate. Big West rules prohibit cheerleaders/ bands/rally squads from performing at away conference games.

Grad school

Former North Idaho College center Jelena Zrnic wrapped up a dandy senior season at Nevada by making the All-Big West tournament team. The 6-foot-6 Zrnic scored 30 points in an overtime loss to eventual champ UC Santa Barbara.

Zrnic, whose conditioning has improved since her NIC years, averaged 14.1 points and 7.4 rebounds during the regular season and was second-team All-Big West.

Front row

CdA baseball, second at state last year, makes its debut Saturday against Moscow at noon at the Viking field complex. Among the top Vikings are Hoorelbeke, Kurt Sigler and Jim Rupp, key players on the Viks’ basketball team.

Rumor de jour

A prominent booster at the University of Oregon asked ex-NIC coach John Owen to apply for the Ducks’ soon-to-be-vacant wrestling job.

Owen isn’t interested.

, DataTimes