EWU men’s basketball signs 3-point specialist Hickert

College basketball: Jordan Hickert, the 17th-best junior college 3-point shooter in the nation during the 2010-11 season, has signed a letter of intent to attend Eastern Washington University and play basketball, the school announced Tuesday.

Formerly from Bunbury in Western Australia, Hickert made 56 of 130 3-point attempts last season for Neosho County (Kan.) Junior College. The 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward, hit 43.1 percent of his 3-point shots last season. He averaged 9.6 points and 7.8 rebounds a game.

Zags honored for academics

Academics: Gonzaga men’s basketball, men’s soccer and women’s golf earned NCAA Public Recognition Awards based on their most recent multiyear Academic Progress Rates.

Gonzaga women’s golf received a Public Recognition Award all six years of the program, one of 260 teams to be so honored.

 These awards are given each year to teams scoring in the top 10 percent in each sport with their APRs. 

 Full APR scores for all teams, including penalties for low-performing teams, will be released next week.

Contest fish may be late

Fishing: A day of fishing is never wasted, but perhaps there’s been no reason for anglers to get hopes too high for catching a $1 million fish in Lake Coeur d’Alene. At least not yet.

Last Friday, Cabela’s announced the Saturday start of a “Wanna Go Fishing for Millions?” promotion. Fish were scheduled to be tagged in 67 waters, including Lake Coeur d’Alene in North Idaho and Sprague and Potholes in Eastern Washington.

However, Cabela’s officials have not confirmed that any fish have been tagged and released in Lake Coeur d’Alene.

“I can assure you a number of fish are going to be tagged now or in the next day or two,” Ron Brekhus, general manager of the Post Falls store, said Tuesday afternoon.

Jim Fredericks, Idaho Fish and Game Department regional fisheries manager, said he could not confirm that any fish had been tagged. However, he said the agency had received a request this week to help Cabela’s tag some smallmouth bass.

Washington Fish and Wildlife Department officials confirmed that state biologists had assisted in tagging and releasing fish in Sprague Lake and Potholes Reservoir.

Rich Landers