A Grip on Sports: With little in the way of normal these days, traditions have to adapt – including Hoopfest

A GRIP ON SPORTS • A normal day isn’t normal anymore, is it? In lots of little (and big) ways, what we used to do every year has been washed away in our hope of keeping everyone safe. There were a couple more examples Wednesday.

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• For the past three decades, the Spokane basketball community has built its summers around Hoopfest. The last weekend in June has been reserved for the celebration of hoop downtown, with everyone from youth players to college administrators eager to be a part of the world’s largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

The last weekend of June in 2020 will feel pretty empty.

With little chance the world will even be close to normal – there’s that word again – by then, Hoopfest’s board and executive director Matt Santangelo made the decision this week to move the event to August 22-23.

The new date is fraught with its problems as well, however. If Hoopfest is allowed to occur, then more than likely football is also starting up. Many of the younger-age participants will also be starting their football practices. It will be interesting to see if high school coaches ban their players from participating.

But that’s a minor issue compared to the fear the event, like many events worldwide, will have to be scrapped all together. In the new “normal,” no one knows what will be allowed next month or the months after that. What we do know is there is a date on the table. Whether a feat will be served is still a big unknown.

• Yesterday was, as I was reminded by my helpful and kind readers, not Tax Day. Thanks to COVID-19, the deadline was extended recently to July 15. It made no difference to me. My body is conditioned to panic around the first of April and stay in high-stress mode until the check is in the mail.

It’s what I do.

What high school athletes do, if they are headed for the next level, is sign a letter of intent. Usually, during normal years, that signing is done their high school, either in an assembly or in front of a gathering of their friends and supporters. Not yesterday.

The spring LOI period began and nowhere were students still in school. The day, like each since this pandemic heated up, was spent in isolation. The signing and faxing – if one could be found – of the documents occurred in somewhat of a vacuum.

That doesn’t mean there wasn’t a celebration. It just wasn’t as public. But I guarantee, any parent whose son or daughter accepted a college scholarship, no matter how small, celebrates. After having paid tuition for two boys, I understand. Heck, just this month I paid my last loan payment for one of them, and they are both in their 30s. I celebrated that blessed event in my own understated way – thank goodness there is no video of that celebration dance.

We want to chime in with our congratulations to any high school athlete out there yesterday who signed. Your name may not be splashed across the newspaper or the video shown on the evening news, but you earned the accolades yesterday’s signature signified.

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Gonzaga: For the type of player GU basketball attracts, for both teams, letter-of-intent day is a foregone conclusion. The men and women that sign with the Bulldogs’ have had their recruitment analyzed and tracked for months if not years. Such is the case for Jalen Suggs, the five-star guard who made it official yesterday. Jim Meehan has a story on his signing. … It is also the case for Loyola of Chicago transfer Abby O’Connor, who didn’t sign a letter of intent but did put her signature on a financial-aid agreement. (Under NCAA rules, only one NLI can be signed per playing career. Most transfers sign a financial-aid agreement or something similar before they change schools.) Jim Allen has that story. … Jim Allen also joined Larry Weir for the latest Press Box pod. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Mark Pope is excited for BYU’s newest recruit.

WSU: The same can be said of the Cougars. There were no surprises yesterday as Kyle Smith received LOIs from a couple of players who committed earlier. Theo Lawson has this story on Canadian Jefferson Koulibaly and 6-foot-11 four-star post Dishon Jackson sending in their papers. … Theo will be back on the website at 2 p.m. today with another Virtual Northwest Passages Forum featuring baseball coach Brian Green. … Around the Pac-12, most of what Larry Scott and the conference office are concentrating on right now is contingency plans. The same can be said for athletic directors like Utah’s Mark Harlan. … Washington signed a couple of basketball players, including a transfer from North Idaho College. The Huskies have struggled with high-profile freshmen recently. … Is it possible Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard could be reunited in the WNBA? … Almost every school had incoming players to announce yesterday, including Oregon State, Colorado, UCLA and Arizona State. The Sun Devils’ most high-profile recruit may help entice a veteran to return. … Arizona has a new assistant coach – for now. … In football news, Colorado’s running backs picked up experience last season. … Another Utah lineman is expecting an NFL call. … Jim Lambright’s last act was a selfless one.

EWU and Idaho: The Eagles and Vandals both added to their basketball rosters yesterday. Ryan has more in this story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, the conference office is examining many scenarios for football. … Montana State expects to be solid at cornerback in the fall. … Weber State picked up a Loyola Marymount basketball transfer – and signed a football player who once was headed to Boise State.

Preps: We wrote about the decision yesterday, but we have to pass along the actually event. The Spokane Schools’ board of directors signed an agreement for the design of a new stadium at the Joe Albi site in Northwest Spokane. Jim Allen has that news. … Naje Smith made a mark at Lewis and Clark High a few years back. Now, after a couple seasons playing junior college basketball in Arizona, he signed a LOI with Boise State. Luke Byrnes has more in this story. There is also the news Mead’s Tyson Rogalette signed with Linfield. … After spending an hour on a Zoom call – what, a 63-year-old guy can’t learn a new skill? – focused on summer travel basketball – spoiler alert, everything is still up in the air – nothing in this Steve Christilaw story surprised me. But it helps to have all the news in one place. 

Chiefs: Former coach Bill Peters is headed to Russia.

Hoopfest: As we linked above, Hoopfest is headed to August. Hopefully. Ryan Collingwood has all the particulars in this story.

Seahawks: Draft rankings are in the eye of the beholder. Just saying. … Drew Brees will retire some day and join a broadcast crew. So will a Seahawk or two. … Defensive linemen are a Seattle draft staple, though safeties should be this year.

Mariners: Yesterday was Jackie Robinson Day, though it went unrecognized to some extent as no games were played. The M’s, and other teams, found a way to still honor Robinson in some manner.

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• Each day I try to come up with a couple extra chores to finish before Kim arrives home from work. If said chores necessitate a trip to an establishment with others, I have to try to enlist the help of my youngest son. That makes planning necessary. Asking others for help, even other family members, isn’t hardwired into my DNA. My dad was a big fan of self-reliance and, after discovering Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writing, I became a fan too. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be a surly octogenarian. Until later …