It's your Wednesday WAC morning meal -- so break that fast

Dayton Morinaga has the scoop that Gib Arnold has landed a big for next season -- maybe. He's a junior college center from Eastern Utah who is connected to new UH assistant Walter Roese:

6-10 center commits to UH
Joaquim averaged 8.9 points, 6.8 rebounds as freshman at Eastern Utah   
Dayton Morinaga
Hololulu Advertiser

The international connections for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team are apparently already in effect.

Vander Joaquim, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound center at College of Eastern Utah, has committed to play for the Rainbow Warriors, according to his coaches.

Joaquim is originally from Angola, and has ties to new Hawai'i associate coach Walter Roese...

Go here for the remainder.

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Ray Brewer/Las Vegas Sun has the scoop on Kevin Olekaibe and his decision to come to Fresno State -- a tip o' the hat to RagingBulldog for first posting this at the Barkboard basketball MB.

Cimarron guard Kevin Olekaibe to sign with Fresno State
Ray Brewer
Las Vegas Sun
April 13, 2010

Cimarron-Memorial High point guard Kevin Olekaibe was the state’s leading scorer this winter at 35.6 points per game.

But he also averaged 4.8 assists per contest — a statistic he feels could double at the next level.

Olekaibe plans to sign with Fresno State on Friday, accepting the Bulldogs’ scholarship over offers from Boise State and UTEP. He said chance to play immediately at Fresno State was the most appealing...

Go here for the remainder.

We're not taking sides (having never seen the young man from Vegas play) but it will be fascinating to see who performs better in college: Olekaibe or Robert Sandoval?

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In a similar vein, rmack003 at the BroncoCountry.com basketball message board reports that 6-foot-7 Oregon transfer Drew Wiley, will be visiting Boise.

Here is a recent Oregonian article on Wiley's leaving the Ducks program. His best skills appear to be shooting from distance.

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Jason Groves has a blog post up chock full of Aggie basketball information -- check it out here.

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Chris Murray provides an update on Malik Cooke's status with the South Carolina basketball team.

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Mark Fox talks about Malik Cooke / interview with Zane Johnson

There's not much to it but go here if you are interested in Mark Fox talking about Malik Cooke.

Plus, here's an interview with Arizona transfer Zane Johnson who is sitting out the season at Hawaii,

ADDITION: Seth Emerson has a Malik Cooke article posted

Seth Emerson has an article posted about Malik Cooke's enrollment at South Carolina:

Nevada forward transfers to USC
Seth Emerson
The State
8.26.09

Malik Cooke, a 6-foot-5 forward who started every game as a sophomore for Nevada, has enrolled at USC and plans to walk on to the Gamecocks men’s basketball team, according to his high school coach.

Because of NCAA transfer rules, Cooke would not be eligible to play for the Gamecocks this season. His overall status is also up in the air, as Nevada has not released him to sign with another school. Cooke and his family are paying his own way to USC...

Go here for the remainder.

Malik Cooke enrolled at South Carolina

We communicated back and forth today with Seth Emerson, who covers South Carolina basketball for The State (the newspaper in Columbia). From Seth, we've just learned that Malik Cooke has indeed walked on at the University of South Carolina.

Per Chris Murray, Malik Cooke not at Nevada

There were certainly some Wolf Pack fans who were hoping Malik Cooke would somehow return to Reno for the 2009-2010 school year and season but that didn't happened.

Here's Chris Murray with a note about Cooke (scroll down after hitting the link)

An interview with Malik Cooke

Well, here's what we can contribute to the 'standoff' between basketball player Malik Cooke and the University of Nevada Athletics. There's been a great deal of 'he said - she said' surrounding the flap, multiple opinions offered and numerous questions raised. Therefore, rather than re-visiting what has already been in print, we decided to take a simple and direct question-and-answer approach and compiled six questions to pose to Malik Cooke. It's obviously up to each individual to determine whether the following clears matters up or further muddies the waters. We talked to him Tuesday evening -- here is what he said:

PTW: What do you want?

MC: I want my formal athletic release.


PTW: Have you ever told Nevada you wanted to stay?

MC: I said I had a family situation at home and I needed to leave. I said I liked it here [at Nevada] but I had to go home.


PTW: When did you first ask to leave? Who did you ask?

MC: A week or two after the season. I said it to Coach Fox. He told me to think about it some more and make sure that was what I wanted to do.


PTW: Did you get a chance to talk with Coach Fox before he went to Georgia?

MC: No, he just left. I then asked Coach Carter.


PTW: In your mind, why isn't Nevada granting you a release? What were you told?

MC: I was told 'we don't do releases' -- that 'she [AD Cary Groth] doesn't give them out.'


PTW: Would you accept transferring and sitting out a season as long as it was on scholarship?

MC: Right.

We're not sure what we can add but...

We are not fooling ourselves, so don't be mistaken. We readily acknowledge PTW has little influential power and more than likely none. But we are poking around the Nevada-Malik Cooke situation and hope to have some of the answers to some of the questions fairly soon.

Right now, it appears Cooke's request has been formally decided and the foremost option available to Cooke is the proverbial court of public opinion. The latter has certainly swayed matters in other jurisdictions.

That's really all we should type at this point.

Of course, there's more Nevada news

To no one's surprise, there more on the Malik Cooke-Nevada imbroglio. Chris Murray has the latest details:

Nevada refuses to grant Cooke a release in good standing
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
4/27/2009

Malik Cooke’s stepfather, Richard Jones, says he has a serious illness and that his business recently lost about 90 percent of its value. Under those circumstances, Cooke has asked for a release from the program because of medical and financial hardships.

However, the Nevada basketball player’s request to transfer to a school close to his North Carolina home was denied by Wolf Pack athletic director Cary Groth, who has not granted him a “release in good standing.” An appeals board at Nevada also denied the transfer request...

Go here for the remainder.

The above was followed by this:

What's next in the Malik Cooke situation?
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal
4/27/2009

So, what happens now?

Nevada basketball player Malik Cooke has been denied a release in good standing by Wolf Pack athletic director Cary Groth. He has been denied a release in good standing from a three-person internal appeals board at Nevada (full story here). But Cooke’s desire to move to a school closer to be with his ailing family remains unchanged.

Cooke could transfer to a Division-II school and play immediately while on athletic scholarship, but that has been ruled out by his family. (Cooke isn’t a Division-II-type player and he would have to give up a year of eligibility).

Cooke could transfer to a Division-I school and pay that “sit-out transfer season” before becoming eligible to receive two years of athletic scholarship, but that has been ruled out by his family. (They cannot afford that route in their current financial situation).

Or, perhaps Cooke could follow the lead of ex-Arizona recruit Jeff Withey. This possibility might be the route Cooke follows, according to Eric Taylor, the player’s uncle and the family spokesperson...

Go here for the remainder.

Malik Cooke gets ticketed for membership on PTW's "Gettin' No Love' train

Okay, okay, okay, we have been remiss so in rectification of that we're bringing Nevada's Malik Cooke aboard the PTW "Gettin' No Love' train.

There's probably a significant number of WAC fans who are saying 'Malik who?' right about now so let's cut to a mini bio: Cooke is a 6-6, 205 Mr. Versatile for the Pack, having the ability to play just about every position on the floor. He turned 19 last month, possesses a 7-0 wingspan and played his prep ball in North Carolina.

Cooke is also a tangible example of the possibilities of individual improvement from one season to the next.

Last go-around, he saw playing time in all 33 games and averaged 2.4 ppg. and 2.9 rpg in about 11 and a half minutes a contest. Even as a frosh, he shot 48% from the floor.

After spending most of the summer in Reno and obviously working on honing his basketball skills, Cooke is firmly in place as a starter for Mark Fox this season and here's why:

*** 32.7 minutes a game
*** 11.0 points per game (shooting 526% overall, .733% from the foul line and 2-2 on threes)
*** 6.7 rebounds a game (10 offensive and 10 defensive)
*** tied for the team lead in steals with six

Cooke didn't make much of a national recruiting splash although he certainly was the pride of the Asheville area. The athletic abilities were already in place and it was a matter of continuing with his skill development.

It would be over the top to go so far as to say Cooke is the most important cog to the Pack program's success because the contributions of Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson (and the attention they draw from defenses and in the game plans of opposing coaches) cannot be downplayed.

It is fair to note that Cooke is performing a role that no other Nevada player could fill at this time -- rebounding, defense and providing a solid contribution of points without really looking for his shot.

Come aboard Malik.