Scott’S Status A Real Concern For UI Coach

Gordon Scott’s medical condition hasn’t been officially diagnosed. Dave Farrar has acute sweaty palms.

Scott, Idaho basketball’s leading scorer, was sidelined by illness from Saturday’s game against UC Santa Barbara. He was taken to the hospital Friday, just before the Vandals flew south to California. Scott made the trip, but didn’t play.

Scott was ordered by doctors to stay in bed Monday.

“When they took him to the hospital, it makes you nervous,” said Farrar, Idaho’s coach. When doctors told Scott to remain in bed Monday, Farrar said, “it didn’t look good to me; that surprised me.”

There is history that accentuates concern from those associated with the program. In December, Scott was slowed by an ailment near his heart during a light segment in Idaho’s schedule. “I believe it was inflammation of the lining of the heart and he had some fluid around it,” Farrar said.

Scott was treated at the time with medication that produced some unwanted side effects, Farrar said. The treatment sapped Scott’s energy and strength.

Farrar hopes Scott’s latest illness is unrelated. He also hopes Scott, who averages 17.7 points and has made 66 3-pointers this season, improves enough to make Idaho’s road trip to New Mexico State on Thursday and North Texas on Saturday. Even if Scott does accompany the team, he probably won’t have the energy to play at top speed or for long stretches of time.

“My guess right now is he won’t play,” Farrar said, “but we’ll see.”

Panhandling

Two weeks ago, Nevada football coach Chris Tormey essentially had three offensive coordinators. Chris Klenakis was OC from the previous regime; Phil Earley was Tormey’s OC at Idaho before joining him as assistant head coach in Reno; and, of course, athletic director Chris Ault, who originated the vaunted Wolf Pack attack when he was the head coach.

Now, Klenakis has moved on to Southern Miss and Earley to Cincinnati. And Ault’s probably nervous because his beloved offense was supposed to remain in place despite the head coaching change.

Earley received a $30,000 raise to become a Bearcat with the added bonus of calling plays. Cincinnati made an unsuccessful run at Earley after the Vandals defeated Southern Miss 42-35 in the 1998 Humanitarian Bowl.

“I think (coach Rick Minter) might have watched on TV and he called a couple of people to get names and mine came up a couple of times,” Earley said. “I think (Minter was interested) because Southern Miss is in the same league (Conference USA) and we were able to put up those points and yards on them.”

Tormey, by the way, raved of his recruiting class. “I think there’s a number of players in this group we wouldn’t have got at Idaho,” he said. He named six players as examples.

New Idaho coach Tom Cable, though, wasn’t overwhelmed by the Vandals’ recruiting list when he arrived in Moscow. He basically round-filed it and formed his own.

The great basketball caper has been solved. Utah State players and coaches whined that basketballs used in last week’s USU-Idaho game were old, slick and hard, contributing to the Aggies’ 39-percent shooting. UI coach Farrar’s response: The Vandals dribble Rawlings, the official ball of the NCAA Tournament.

If they’re good enough for the Big Dance, they’re good enough for Utah State.

New Idaho volleyball coach Debbie (Martin) Buchanan has scored a victory over her former boss, Tom Hilbert, at Colorado State. CSU assistant Ken Murphy will be Buchanan’s assistant at Idaho.

Had to chuckle (and agree) with Lake City High coach Jim Winger’s lament from the bench during the overwhistled fourth quarter in the T-Wolves’ drubbing of Post Falls last week: “It’s a school night!”

John Owen, former North Idaho College wrestling coach, has directed University High’s frosh to two straight Spokaloo freshmen tournament titles. U-Hi had never won Spokaloo until Owen came aboard.

The level doesn’t matter - if you can coach, you can coach.

Front row

The Coeur d’Alene girls have defeated Moscow three times. The fourth installment of the rivalry is for the A-1 Region I title tonight at 7 at Viking Gym. The only way there will be a fifth encounter is if the Vikings lose.

The A-2 District I girls championship game is Wednesday at 7:45 at North Idaho College. Regular-season champ Lakeland is favored.

Also Wednesday, Lake City’s boys visit Coeur d’Alene at 7:45. The T-Wolves spanked the Vikings last month in the Fight for the Fish spirit game.

Grad report

Former NIC wrestler Curtis Owen has a familiar foe at 174 pounds on the Arizona State wrestling team. Owen is battling R.D. Pursell, the opponent he beat 10-1 in last year’s NJCAA final.

Owen, a sophomore, is 11-13 and having a typical first year for a Division I wrestler, coach Lee Roy Smith said. “He’s been rather inconsistent, but that’s not all that uncommon for people going from JC or high school without a redshirt.”

Smith hasn’t decided whether Owen or Pursell will represent ASU at the Pac-10 championships this month.

Former NIC basketball player JoVann Johnson has left UMass. Johnson played a total of 29 minutes in six games before quitting.

Rumor du jour

It’s true Washington State president-if-he-wants-to-be V. Lane Rawlins was on the board of directors at the College Football Association when Idaho A.D. Mike Bohn was CFA marketing director in the early ‘90s.

But go easy on a Bohn-to-WSU scenario, should Rawlins set down roots in Pullman. The two are acquaintances, but haven’t stayed in touch.