Mostly WAC recruiting news

Shawn Harrison checks in here about Anthony DiLoreto

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Jay Drew and Lya Wodraska are reporting a Utah senior-to-be backcourter has an offer from Kerry Rupp.

Jonathan Ford at BleedTechBlue.com has the news of another LA TECH signing.Go here (a Rivals sub is required). Here is an older report of Kenyon McNeaill's earlier commitment to Nebraska. Here is the young man's Facebook page.

Jamison Sterns, a previous signee with UTEP, has also become a Bulldog. Small but wide, here he is dunking against a big. What's odd is that here is Tim Floyd quoted as saying Sterns is more interested in playing college football. As a freshman, Sterns verbally committed to Baylor.

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Collin Woods, a 6-foot-3 2011 guard out of Horizon High (Arizona), now has an offer from Fresno State. All indications point to him eventually going with Arizona State. Utah State also received previous mention.

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2011 Arizona backcourter Luke Roh -- 6-foot-3, 180 -- is received attention from many, including Boise State. Rival's Adam Gorney has a feature here (a sub is required).

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Nick Jezierny fleshes out the proposal from the WAC coaches that rearranges the tournament matchups.

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Old news revisited

This initial item has been covered before here but we came across it again today while cruising around the 'net:

Update on future Grizzly: Vaughn Autry
Mslacat's Blog
March 27, 2010

"...When Utah State offered Autry they told him that given their graduations from this years team he had the opportunity to step in and contribute possibly start as a true freshman. Autry thought it over and went a head and committed. Jumping ahead to late October and Utah State has a change of mind and rescinds their offer. Unfortunately most of the schools who were recruiting Autry before committing to Utah State have filled their needs..."

Go here for the complete post.

While PTW is glad that Utah State alerted Autry about this decision with some time to spare before the November signing period, we still feel one's word is a bond. Granted, it's a two-way street as recruits certainly do a 180 and change their minds and destinations but behavior should be dictated by one's beliefs and not how others behave or what the process is or can be characterized.

So Autry, whose team just won a state championship but had his father pass away before that final game, is headed to Montana.


Also, opining in on the Anthony DiLoreto situation: after pleading out to a felony charge of "possession of burglarious tools" due to participating in a bank robbery and with a determination of probation and serving jail time during the summer months of the next three years, he was arrested in February for possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

No decision about his return to the Utah State basketball team has been announced as yet but we just can't see it. Yes, he stayed in the car during the robbery attempt but he provided the rifle and the vehicle that was used to travel from Minnesota to Wisconsin.

Second chances are appropriate in so many situations but a third one here? With legal infractions taking place in such a short period of time?

Okay, there's your dose of PTW's so-called wisdom of Solomon and we'll slide off our high horse. Hey, wouldn't the greatest name for a judge or arbiter be Solomon Justice?

Friday afternoon WAC links

So now you have a taste of our game previews and also game reports and we're sure that some will think they are akin to filet mignon while others will go with brussel sprouts and avoid 'em completely.

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Stew Morrill has spoken about Anthony DiLoreto. There's not much 'there' there in terms of an update but Jared Eborn fills us in here. So does Tony Jones here.

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Chris Murray is Red-Bulling it. Here is his recipe -- 10 possible ingredients -- for a Wolf Pack upset of Utah State. Here is a "payback" entry. Here are matchups, keys and a prediction.

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Idaho at Boise State certainly has implications on Saturday night -- gotta get ahead of Hawaii. Both Don Verlin and Greg Graham plus their squads need some momentum and the loser of this one will encounter additional what-went-wrong scenarios across the various message boards.

Did anyone forsee 2-7 Vandal and Bronco W-L records at this point in WAC play? We certainly can't claim such foresight.

DiLoreto has to be hasta la vista

We don't know Stew Morrill. He isn't on our Christmas card list nor are we on his. But if his discipline history offers any guidance, then Anthony DiLoreto is now viewing membership in the Utah State basketball program in his rear view mirror:

USU's DiLoreto suspended, remains in jail on drug charges
Tony Jones
Salt Lake Tribune
2/04/2010

Utah State freshman center Anthony DiLoreto, who is now suspended indefinitely from the basketball program, was arrested earlier this week for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia...

Go here for the remainder.

Don't ask Anthony DiLoreto what he'll be doing for summer vacation

Anthony DiLoreto is one lucky young man and surely he knows such. Thanks to AgHoc at the Scout Utah State site message board and BornAnAggie at the Scout New Mexico State site message board for finding this:

Hopkins hoops star Anthony DiLoreto will spend 3 summers in jail in Danbury, Wis., bank robbery
Basketball star gets plea deal in botched robbery
Andy Rathbun
Pioneer Press
10/23/2009

Former Hopkins basketball star Anthony DiLoreto will spend a portion of the next few summers in jail after he was sentenced Thursday for his role in a bungled Wisconsin bank robbery.

The 7-foot-tall DiLoreto received three years' probation and 90 days in jail following his guilty plea for felony possession of burglary tools at his sentencing in Burnett County Circuit Court, according to his lawyer, Eric J. Nelson.

DiLoreto, now a 19-year-old freshman player for Utah State University, will spend 30 days in jail each summer for three years. He also will serve 100 hours of community service for each year of probation and attend a restorative justice program, Nelson said...

Go here for the remainder.

The Anthony DiLoreto File

We may get criticized for even venturing into this territory because we are basing this post of a number of message board postings. They (or some of them or none of them) may be true. But it's a fascinating story on a number of levels and one that may have a WAC connection to it. Or not.

Let's begin with Gary Parrish's article on one Anthony DiLoreto (who may have been able to save Kevin Bromley's head coaching job at Cal Poly had he not chaffeured a friend seeking to make a withdrawal to an out-of-state bank).

Programs not bailing on recruit who could face jailing
Gary Parrish
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
July 27, 2009

A year ago at this time, Anthony DiLoreto was signed with Cal Poly and scheduled to enroll at the Big West Conference School. But then the Minnesota native was charged with robbery of a financial institution and possession of a short-barreled rifle for his alleged role in a bank heist, and you are going to be surprised by this column if you think that was the end of his basketball career.

It was not the end.

It was the launching pad, believe it or not.

"Saint Louis has offered," DiLoreto told me after he helped a summer basketball team called Net Gain Sports to a win in the Adidas Super 64 tournament this weekend. "There's some Big Ten, some West Coast Conference schools [also showing interest]."

Go here for the remainder.

A subsequent and recent plea agreement now has DiLoreto available to accept a college basketball scholarship.

As for the scholarship offer from Coach Rick Majerus and St. Louis, BillikenReport.com message board postings at the were in disagreement as to whether or not DiLoreto was offered.

However, it would be damning to DiLoreto's future recruitment to be fabricating anything after the resolution of his legal charge.

St. Louis has now apparently decided to rescind the offer and look elsewhere.

This brings us to the WAC connection (or not).

At the Scout Utah State site basketball message board, there are a couple of threads about DiLoreto and his coming to Logan (or not).

Also for what it's worth, within one of those threads is also a mention of Aggie big man recruit Nate Bendall having some injury problems.

Whew. Can someone diagram all this out?