Grip on Sports: In a season dominated by Gonzaga’s undefeated run, Eastern’s Jake Wiley still stands out

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There’s a glitch in the email software I use at home. We won’t throw under the bus a business that brings so much money to our state, but if you send me an email, in a week or two there will be 25 or so copies of the same email in my Inbox. They multiple like rabbits. Sort of like the baskets Jake Wiley scores. Read on.

••••••••••

• It’s pretty hard to gain any college basketball recognition around these parts right now. The light shining off Gonzaga’s No. 1-ranking is so bright as to make it almost impossible to see anything else in the hoop realm.

We understand it. It’s not often Spokane can lay claim to anything that’s considered tops in the nation not having to do with potholes, low home prices or wacky city politics.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few really cool stories being blotted out by the heat of the GU sun.

Wiley is one of them.

Eastern Washington’s fifth-year senior is part of the Eagles’ potent 1-2 strike force – with junior Bogdan Bliznyuk – and is averaging 19.8 points a game this season. Overall.

But in the 11 games of Big Sky play he’s been exceptional, scoring at a 27.2 point-per-game clip, playing almost every minute of every game.

That’s not all. In conference he has grabbed nearly 10 rebounds a game and is shooting 68.8 percent from the field. And, ya, don’t foul him. He’s converted more than 8 of every 10 free throws he’s had in Big Sky action.

The past week he was even better.

In two conference home games, both wins, Wiley averaged – averaged – 41.5 points and 14.5 rebounds. It’s little wonder he was NCAA.com’s national player of the week.

Wiley’s story has been told. He moved to Newport from Long Beach, California, while in high school and lived with his grandparents. He was a three-sport athlete at Newport High, with his basketball ability showcased the summer after his junior year while traveling with Eastern Washington Elite.

Montana’s Wayne Tinkle liked what he saw and offered Wiley a scholarship. Wiley took it.

It didn’t really work out in Missoula. After a year of basketball, he ran track and then decided to transfer to Lewis-Clark State, where he starred for two years and earned his degree.

Now, after taking advantage of the NCAA’s student-friendly graduate-transfer rule, he’s doing his thing on a bigger stage. And yet, he’s not in the spotlight one would expect of a guy averaging 27.2 points per game in conference play.

Maybe the Eagles can earn another trip to the NCAA tournament. And Wiley can have another 45-point scoring night. Now that would earn him some recognition. No matter what happens to the team from down by the river.

•••

Gonzaga: Speaking of the Zags, they remained No. 1, though their gap over the No. 2 team, this week Villanova, shrunk a bit. Jim Meehan has all the particulars in this story. … BYU’s Dave Rose won his 300th game last week and that has some significance in Provo.

WSU: For a dead time in the football calendar, there is a lot going on around the Pac-12. The Oregon assistant coach who was set to be fired, resigned yesterday. And more details came out concerning the Colorado assistant coach who was fired recently. Meanwhile, the 2017 recruiting classes are still being parsed and dissected from every angle. … The conference’s revenue hole, vis-à-vis other conferences, is just going to grow. … In basketball, Art Thiel is calling for a change for UW basketball. He feels it’s time for Lorenzo Romar to be replaced. … Arizona has to put the Oregon debacle behind it. … Oregon State has an exceptionally experienced fan base. … Finally, schools in California have found their scheduling options condensed a bit due to a new state law.

EWU: The honors that rolled in for Wiley yesterday are all covered in this story from our Jim Allen.

Preps: A busy week dawned for prep basketball, as there were a handful of makeup games in both girls and boys ranks around the area. And then the playoffs begin. Dave Nichols has a preview of what’s ahead for the small schools. … Our history lesson this week if from a long, long time ago. … There was little change among the Seattle Times’ statewide power rankings of big schools.

Seahawks: Despite losing a backup on a waiver claim, the Hawks enter the offseason looking to get back to the top next year.

Mariners: With spring training just around the corner – stop dancing – it’s time for previews. There’s this one on the rotation and this look at third base, manned by one of the M’s best players.

Sounders: Seattle loaned one of its young players and is hoping one of its new ones will regain his lost touch.

•••                                        

• A couple of thoughts about items I touched on earlier. The email problem comes and goes. Right now it is in hiatus. And I’ve cleaned out enough junk to qualify for a job with Waste Management. As for Wiley, I got to watch him shine that aforementioned summer, as I spend a lot of my time helping with the EWE program. Until later …