Saturday's WAC items

Tony Jones takes a Utah State look at the Big Mountain Jam basketball tourney and he is especially singing the praises of commit Marcel Davis. Go here.

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Travis Mason-Bushman notes the latest on former Vandal Kashif Watson.

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rockdog at the Bulldog Barks and Bytes basketball message board came across the latest on now Indiana Pacer Magnum Rolle. It's here. A load if other videos prominently featuring Paul George and a bit of Rolle can be found by going here.

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Help create the momentum

The University of California Santa Cruz has the banana slug as its school/sports mascot. It's native to the area and the John Travolta character wore just such a t-shirt in "Pulp Fiction" -- Quentin Tarantino's classic film..

So, do you think we can get the Idaho Vandals to change the school mascot to the Palouse Earthworms?

They are supposed to be giant -- spitters too.

Just think of the merchandising opportunities, or more to the point, the dollars that will flow into the university's coffers through shirt and other sales. Especially in these trying economic times for schools.

Go here to read more and here is the Wikipedia page.

We want the giant Palouse Earthworm! When do we want it? Now!

Get your game reports here

Boise State kept it close into the second half but Utah State then kicked it into another gear as Tony Jones reports. He reports here that Kyle Gibson is gutting it out but nowhere near his usual capacity. Per Tony, going Green was a wise choice by Stew Morrill.

Shawn Harrison offers his game report here. Wade Denniston joins the Brian Green fan club.

Jared Eborn was also in Reno and filed this take on the game. Again, Brian Green receives recognition for his contributions.

Here's Nick Jezierny with his report on the game.

Maybe this is an overstatement but does Green flourish on any other team/in any other offensive sustem in the WAC? PTW thinks not. Green is not one to create for himself or others on the dribble drive -- he is a catch-and-shoot offensive talent who needs space in order to get off his shot. His strengths dovetail well with Morrill's offensive schemes and the unselfishness of the other USU players. So a tip o' the hat is due to Morrill for forseeing this when probably every other coach was wondering about Green's signing by the longtime Aggie mentor.

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Chris Murray reports on the Nevada win over Idaho here.

Travis Mason-Bushman provides his Vandal Nation post along with a post-game press conference video of Coach Don Verlin.

Nick Jezierny also covered the game and filed this take.

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Hit the Bulletin in the Zone for reports on all the matchups.

Jason Groves recaps the convincing triumph for Coach Marvin Menzies' team here.

Sam Wasson has his take here. Sam and AggieVision also offer 3+ minutes of NMSU highlights from the game.

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Despite a less-than-healthy Kyle Gibson, Louisiana Tech handled Fresno State. Daniel Lyght is here with the Fresno State perspective.

Wednesday's WAC-iness

The Bulletin in the Zone has, well, let's call it what they did -- "This week's "Quotapalooza" on and about New Mexico State hoops here.

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Daniel Lyght has a truly informative and fascinating article today on and about (we have a trend developing) Steve Cleveland and Fresno State hoops here.

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Chris Murray offers a feature on the 'drought' in Nevada basketball here -- there are a whole lot of other teams wishing they had such a 'weather' history. Also, Coach David Carter talks reality for any college coach in this country here, despite the lip service given to other measurement tools.

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Travis Mason-Bushman did take to the air to reach Reno -- our error -- and offers this conversation with Coach Don Verlin.

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Nick Jezierny checks in here with news, notes and quotes on Bronco basketball.

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Stew Morrill did a no-no per WAC headquarters -- Jarded Eborn has the details here.

Getting the opportunity to face Boise State isn't exactly a stepping stone says Stew Morrill in Shawn Harrison's article here.

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Jeff Portnoy offers up some names here for Hawaii's vacated head coaching position.

Dayton Morinaga has a full-length feature on and with Bob Nash here -- Nash explains how his recruiting pool was even further restricted than usual when he took over. A late hire and a batch of possible recruits deemed unapproachable, well, there's an AD with a plan for success -- NOT!

Forget the "Reggie, Reggie" chants that some UH fans were hoping for next season. Brian McInnis has the details here.

Sunday's report on last night's games

If he wasn't on it already, Jared Quayle cinched a first-team All-WAC position last night. Plus, Tai Wesley certainly stated his case.

Jason Groves starts us out here on Utah State's bouncing of New Mexico State. Jared Eborn offers his take on the fight between the two heavyweights here. Shawn Harrison is here with the tantilizing part being something about order on the court. Tony Jones is here with his game eyeball.

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Chris Murray has the lead on Nevada's taking down of Louisiana Tech. He has another report here. Here are Chris' post-game notes including the information about Kyle Gibson playing hurt.

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Travis Mason-Bushman offers his game report here as the Vandals won from long distance over Hawaii despite playing at home. Whether being a Vandal fan or foe, make Travis' stay in Reno this coming week a more financially feasible one by going here. The greater coverage of WAC basketball, the better.

Josh Wright provides his take on the UI - UH game here.

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This Nick Jezierny article on BSU's running over San Jose State here has a headline containing a verb rarely seen this season vis-a-vis Boise State basketball. Watch out for the Broncos next week as synergy seems to be the password with Greg Graham's team.

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Back with much more a bit later.

Your Friday wrap of last night's games

Let's lead off with the game, make that the shootout, of the night -- one that ESPN2, in retrospect, should have televised. Fields usually get furrowed but it was the Aggies plowed under by Brandon Fields last evening in Reno.

Chris Murray is all over the Wolf Pack win over New Mexico State here. Chris offers a plethora of game notes here. Sam Wasson is here and Jason Groves here with their game reports.

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Showing some fire still remains, host Fresno State rallied from a second-half deficit to beat Louisiana Tech, a southern Bulldog squad minus Kyle Gibson due to an ankle ailment. Daniel Lyght has his game report here.

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Travis Mason-Bushman live-blogged Idaho's victory over visiting San Jose State. Here is his game report plus a post-game video interview with Kashif Watson (although there is no definitive word if Watson called his bank shot). Josh Wright provides his game report here.

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Host Boise State had an easy time with Hawaii -- here is Nick Jezierny's game report. The Honolulu Advertiser has Josh Rodriguez and his take here.

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It was a night where each home team won, some unusual firepower was on display at a couple of the venues, where Fresno State had something to prove and did so and with Boise State continuing on its resurgence of sorts.

The scores tonight (Saturday)

Hats off to Hawaii for a very gutty performance in a 66-60 loss to host Louisiana Tech. Hiram Thompson played 40 minutes (14 points), Roderick Flemings 39 (13 and nine) and Adhar Mayen 37. Jonathan Gibson led LT with 15 points.

Both teams shot poorly, especially at the foul line

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Idaho bounced back from the heartbreaker against Nevada and won in Fresno 68-59.

Mac Hopson went for 20 points, eight boards and six assists while Sylvester Seay led the Bulldogs with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.

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Host Nevada took the measure of Boise State in overtime 88-80, behind the tag team tandem of Luke Babbitt's 27 points and 24 from from Armon Johnson.

The most remarkable feat was a double-double from Joey Shaw of 15 markers and 11 boards.

The Broncos were led by 32 points from Ike Okoye. BSU held a six-point lead at halftime, 34-28.

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Utah State had little trouble on the road with SJSU, beating the hosts 81-65 behind red-hot shooting. The Aggies shot 62% overall, 64% from long distance.

Adrian Oliver finished with 28 points to lead the Spartans.

Big Saturday (yes, that's pitiful but the best we could do)

Let's see how Idaho reacts after that heartbreaker versus Nevada. In favor of the Vandals is the likelihood of no Greg Smith for Fresno State. Daniel Lyght has the details here.

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Jason Groves says here that the why of New Mexico State's loss to Fresno State was an anomaly.

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Nevada has signed Rudyard Kipling, an Englishman by way of Bombay. It's known he has a way with words, which should delight WAC scribes, but how much of a basketball prospect he is remains to be determined. Go here for that and much more from Nick Jezierny.

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Shawn Harrison's byline has him in Milpitas -- Milpitas? -- and offering a game preview here of Utah State's matchup tonight against San Jose State.

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The Honolulu Advertiser has a wonderful opening line in the UH game preview article here.

Brian McInnis writes here of Hawaii hoops and snow -- that has to be a first.

More on Idaho hosting Nevada

Chris Murray offers the matchups, keys to the game and a prediction for the Nevada - Idaho game in Moscow tomorrow night. Go here.

Boise State v. Idaho

The halftime score of the Idaho - Boise State grudge match is 25-22 in favor the the Broncos.

Travis Mason-Bushman is live-blogging the game so go here for that. The initial 20 minutes have proven deafening and raucous with the shooting percentage of both teams seemingly near the PTW line (30%). How's that for self promotion? Hey, if baseball has Mendoza as a measuring stick...

Yes, Anthony Thomas is a focal point for the Vandal fans -- let's see what numbers he finishes with tonight.

Both teams need this one.

Sunday game reports on Saturday night's WAC matchups

Due to gremlins -- no, not those AMC (but best selling) clunkers of yesteryear (or if you prefer, Ghosts In The Machine -- The Refaction has been MIA. But now it's back with a vengeance. Here's the Boise State edition. Plus, for those who missed it (including us), here's the Hawaii smackdown.

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Sam Wasson has the game report on New Mexico State's takedown of Fresno State here. Plus, plenty of game photos can be accessed here.

Jason Groves writes that the Aggies tripled up on the Bulkldogs here. He blogs about Jonathan Gibson's season here.

Daniel Lyght offers his game report here as Steve Cleveland talks about this and the next two games versus USU and Nevada at home.

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Jared Eborn offers his game report of the Aggie romp over Boise State here. Shawn Harrison provides his equalizer here. Tony Jones likewise here. Jones also features transfer Brian Green's season-to-date here and well as blogging some post-game rumination here.

Nick Jezierny made the trip south (a big tip o' the hat to Idaho Statesman management) and his game perspective is provided here.

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Chris Murray is all over Nevada's win over Idaho here. He profiles Wolf Pack recruit Jordan Burris here, along with other assorted notes.

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The headline on Dayton Morinaga's game preview here says it all. Brian McInnis complements with his preview of Hawaii versus San Jose State here.

The Curious Case of Roderick Flemings is examined here.

What a night of hoops!

Gotta lead with Jimmy Watson's game report of the Bulldog blowout of the Aggies. We never expected to see the headline attached to his article.

Shawn Harrison (tip o' the hat to the Herald Journal management) has the Bulldogs blasting the Aggies here.

Tony Jones has a pair of blog entries on the contest here and here.

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Jason Groves doesn't have a lot of good to report here after watching the visiting Wolf Pack win in a game apparently not as close as the final score indicates. He has a blog entry on the game here.

Sam Wasson has his Nevada - New Mexico State game report here. Plus, here are photos from the game.

Chris Murray made the trip to Las Cruces (kudos to the RGJ management for making this happen) and here is what he witnessed. Here is his blog entry of game tidbits.

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This is interesting. San Jose State opens WAC play (winning against a tough Idaho squad) and the Mercury News (no longer calling itself the San Jose Mercury News) has an Associated Press report of the game. No, we will not link to it.

Santa Clara hosts Harvard -- a non conference matchup -- featuring the return to the Bay Area of Palo Alto High's Jeremy Lin who has been 'discovered' by the national media and a Mercury News reporter is assigned to cover that game. SC lost and is now 8-9. Go figure that editorial judgment.

Luckily, road warrior Travis Mason-Bushman is continuing to pile up the miles via planes, trains and automobiles (actually, we're not sure about the middle one) and offer this press row perspective on the game. It contains post-game video interviews with Coach Don Verlin and guard Steffan Johnson so do read and watch it. Let's sure hope that some smart sports editor latches on to T M-B once he graduates.

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Hawaii took down Boise State behind the sterling play of Roderick Flemings, Hiram Thompson and Paul Campbell. Dayton Morinaga has his game report here and Brian McInnis his here. The victory was accomplished minus the injured Dwain Williams.

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Marek Warszawski has a blog entry on Fresno State basketball that contains some strong opinions and is certainly worth a read.

Your Tuesday night WAC game scores

Western Oregon, Lewis and Clark and Northwest Nazarene. No, we are not talking about geographical or historical reference points but Tuesday night WAC opponents.

That's why we have to lead with Louisiana Tech's 99-94 victory over Houston and in Texas. This one must have been great television. We wish we could take some credit because the very next game after we wondered about Magnum Rolle's points per game contribution this season, he scores 29 (13-15 shooting) and also grabs 10 rebounds. We're sure Kerry Rupp is fed-exing a consultant contract at this very moment to PTW but we caution he should first contact our agent's law office -- Dewey, Cheatum and Howe.

The Dogs shot 51% on the night and that enormously loud vacuuming sound you heard for about two hours earlier tonight was emanating Olu Ashaholu's hands -- he latched on to 21 boards in addition to 17 points. Oh yeah, Kyle Gibson ho-hummed another one with a measly 28 points.

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Host Utah State nearly doubled the score -- 78 to 42 -- on the aforementioned Wolves of Western Oregon.

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Boise State had no trouble with the incoming Crusaders of Northwest Nazarene of Nampa, Idaho, winning 76-58.

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Idaho, obviously with no appreciation of history, sent Lewis and Clark packing, 71-52.

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Now, on to the WAC slate finally so it can be determined -- on the court -- as to who are the contenders and who are the pretenders.

Chris Murray has Idaho fourth

New Mexico State, Nevada and Utah State remain in the barrel as Chris Murray predicts Idaho will finish fourth in the WAC:

Idaho goes from laughingstock to legit contender
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
10/14/2009

No. 4 Idaho

Coach: Don Verlin (second season; 17-16 at Idaho)

Last year’s record: 17-16 overall, 9-7 WAC (tied for third place)

Returning starters: Four (Mac Hopson, Kashif Watson, Brandon Wiley, Marvin Jefferson)

Key losses: Trevor Morris, Terrence Simmons, Luis Augusto...

Go here for the remainder.

Jeff Goodman gives Idaho some love

FoxSport's Jeff Goodman devotes some space today to Coach Don Verlin and the Idaho Vandals:

IDAHO’S VERLIN HAS VANDALS ROLLING

I’m not sure there’s a better backcourt in the WAC than the duo of Mac Hopson and Steffan Johnson.

Hopson was a first-team all-league guy last season and Johnson sat out a year ago after transferring in from Pacific – where he was favored to win the Player of the Year in the Big West.

``I think we’ll have two point guards on the floor,” Verlin said. ``I’ll allow them both to bring the ball up. We’ll see how it works.”

Go here for the remainder (scroll down a bit)

The Gary Winston Factual File

After belatedly coming to the conclusion that the Gary Winston/Idaho situation was still too hazy, we decided to seek clarification. Taking a two-pronged approach, we emailed a number of reporters in the Walla Walla coverage area and struck gold with Rene Ferran. We also sought to talk with Gary Winston Sr. and succeeded.

Ferran, a sports reporter for the Tri Cities Herald, beat everyone to the punch. He has an article up with the plain truth:

Rene Ferran
Out of Bounds
Tri Cities Herald
September 21, 2009

..."I've heard the same stuff, too, and it's not true," he {Gary Winston Jr.] said. "I don't know how it got started, but I am still going to Idaho..."

Go here for the full story. Thank you Rene for taking the time and making the effort here.

After speaking with Gary Winston Sr. Monday afternoon, we at PTW composed this:

Go straight to the source is the Golden Rule of journalism and that's the path we should have followed in originally determining the status of Walla Walla prepster Gary Winston and his verbal commitment to Idaho basketball coach Don Verlin.

Despite some contrary and (of course) anonymous postings on various message boards, Gary Winston Sr. said yesterday on the phone that his son is going to officially become a Vandal come the November signing period. That absolutely removes any so-called question marks or doubts, period.

We asked Mr. Winston why his son chose Idaho and he said, "Gary was impressed with the coaching staff and the school layout and liked that it wasn't a huge university where you can get lost." As to the latter, he was speaking more of disappearing in the proverbial shuffle as a student. The Vandal coaches and support people also answered all the questions the younger Winston put to them.

Having not witnessed him play, we also inquired as to the younger Winston's best basketball skills and the elder Winston qualified his answer with "keep in mind it's coming from his father" and offered "quickness, leaping ability, mid-range jumper and defensive play."

John Golden, Winston's high school coach, added this about his player. "Gary is one of the hardest working players I've ever been around. He's right up there with '99 grad Kyle Bankhead who went on to play at Gonzaga. He is constantly working on his game and pushing himself to get better. He's been a great role model for our younger players in the community. I look forward to seeing him as a Vandal, but am even more excited to have him here for another year!"

Okay, NOW you have it, no if, ands or buts...or anonymous postings.

Congrats to Gary Winston and the Winston family and another thank you to Rene Ferran for his timely work..

Gary Winston, ex-Vandal

Recently, an email arrived asking if we knew anything about Gary Winston, a 2010 Walla Walla, Washington prepster, deciding to nullify his verbal commit to play basketball at Idaho and open up his recruitment.

We had nothing on this one.

But a lightbulb went off and we remembered Jim Basnight and his Husky Digest site. It is U-Dub focused but Basnight also has connections all over the state and beyond. Anyone interested in hoops information throughout the Evergreen State should be a subscriber.

So we sent an email to Jim.

He got back to us with: "There have been reports on various internet sites that 2010 guard Gary Winston of Walla Walla has decommitted from Idaho and is thought to be headed to either WSU or OSU. Winston is an under the radar kid..."

So there you go.

Winston also is a footballer and initially was going to refrain from playing as a senior. That also changed. Here is a September 11 column containing that news (scroll down to the fourth item).

Here is a July, 2009 ESPN evaluation of Winston the basketballer.

Idaho gets two commits

Idell Bell photos courtesy of FloridaToday.com

Travis Mason-Bushman has the details at his Vandal Nation site:

Vandals get verbal commits from two NIC hoopsters
Travis Mason-Bushman
Vandal Nation
September 11, 2009

The Idaho Vandals are building a pipeline to North Idaho College, one of the nation’s top JC programs. The Lewiston Tribune’s Dale Grummert reported today that freshman forward Renado Parker and sophomore guard Idell Bell have verbally committed to join the Vandals in 2010...

Go here for the remainder.

From a Wright State message board comes this 2007 posting about Bell signing with D-2 Florida Southern:

Coach Linc Darner didn't have to leave the Lakeland city limits to sign a prize recruit for next season. Kathleen High School's standout guard, Idell Bell, has signed with the Moccasins.

"Idell has been on our radar since the day we arrived at Florida Southern," Darner said. "We hit a home run with this signing. This is a young man who will do whatever it takes once he steps on the hardwood. He's an intense competitor, a great defender, with un-measurable toughness and passion. To get a great player like Idell from right here in Polk County is huge for our program. Our fans are going to love watching him play."

Bell, 6-1, led Kathleen to a 26-4 record and the Class 4A runner-up spot in the state tournament this past season. He was a second-team all-state selection, averaging 9.8 points and 3.4 assists. His coach at Kathleen was former Moccasin Drew Taylor.

"I'm ready to try my best to put Florida Southern back op top," Bell said. "I'm excited to get to play at the same school where coach Taylor played and to have the opportunity to play for coach Darner. To be able to stay here in Lakeland is special to me."

Taylor, who played two seasons for the Moccasins (1993-95), is delighted to see his prize player coming to his alma mater. "What a great opportunity for Idell," Taylor said. "I have never coached a kid who played with such consistent intensity. He is always motivated to defend the best and always motivated to score. Idell can be the cornerstone to bring Florida Southern back to prominence. I'm excited to be able to watch him develop and grow."

In a 2006 article, Scout's Dave Telep describes Floridian Bell as a topnotch defender and lists Appalachian State, UNC-Greensboro, Tennessee Tech, Wright State and Jacksonville as Bell's foremost pursuers.

Here is his MySpace page. Hey, we just found another MySpace page for him.

Here is an informative February 2008 Seattle Times article on Parker, including a nice photo.

Travis Mason-Bushman delivers the goods

Travis Mason-Bushman has an interview with second year Vandal head coach Don Verlin up at TMB's Vandal Nation site:

On the Record with Don Verlin: “We want to win this league”
Travis Mason-Bushman
Vandal Nation
August 26, 2009

Hard to believe, but Idaho Vandals hoops will kick off in just over two months. We sat down with men’s coach Don Verlin to talk summer workouts, scheduling and his goals for the season ahead.

Vandal Nation: Talk about the Vandals’ progress over the summer.

Don Verlin: I evaluate the summer based on how we did in the weight room and how we did in the classroom.

Our guys did a great job in the classroom, they passed all of their summer classes and are moving toward graduation. We have no eligibility problems and everyone made academic progress...

Go here for the remainder and do bookmark this site.

Idaho's basketball schedule

The 2009-2010 Idaho men's basketball schedule is listed as incomplete and subject to change in the summer prospectus but here goes anyway:

Nov. 13 at Utah
Nov. 21 at North Dakota State
Nov. 24 Sacramento State
Nov. 28 Eastern Washington

Dec. 3 at Cal State Northridge
Dec. 9 at Washington State
Dec. 12 Eastern Oregon
Dec. 22 at Portland
Dec. 30 Portland

Jan. 30 at Seattle University

Feb. 18 Seattle University
Feb. 20 ESPNU BracketBusters Tournament