Basketball preview, november 6, 2014

TYLER TJOMSLAND PHOTO

[email protected]

Are youready for

Contact the Sports department: (509) 459-5500; fax (509) 744-5655; email [email protected]

SPECIAL SECTION THURSDAY, NOV. 6

New WSU head coachErnie Kent encouragesconfidence through his

strength-based approach

‘Ibelieve theproduction is

there in any playerand I’m the most

positive guy thereis out there in

terms of a coachbecause I think

everybody has agame in them.”

mailto:[email protected]


EWU EAGLES

Conference: Big SkyColors: Red and white

Tickets: (866) 4GO EAGSHome court: Reese

Court (5,000)Website: goeags.com

Head coach: Jim Hayford, fourth seasonRecord at EWU: 40-54

Assistants: ShantayLegans, Alex Pribble,

David Riley2013-14 record: 15-16overall, 10-10 Big Sky

Letterwinners: 9 back, 2 lost

Starters: 4 back, 1 lostNewcomers: 6

FAST FACTS

PAGE T2 � THURSDAY � NOVEMBER 6, 2014 THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

1The new big man on campus. Gone is6-foot-10 German Martin

Seiferth, to be replaced by hiscompatriot Frederik Jörg.The 7-1, 295-pound Jörg wasan acknowledged projectplayer when coach JimHayford brought him toCheney, and he dulyredshirted last year. Now asophomore, Jorg spent theyear honing his fundamentalsand improving his footwork.The better-toned Jörg ismoving up and down thecourt with more grace, andhe offers dominant shootingand shot-blocking inside. Butcan he integrate into afull-court offense, lesseningthe need to go to a smallerlineup? “That depends onFred,” Hayford said.

2The stat line. TheEagles improved innearly every statistical

area last year, especiallyassists, where they led theleague with 13.5 a game. Butthere’s still work to do. TheEagles were near the bottomof the league in both turnovermargin (minus 1.35) andsteals (grabbing only 4.7 pergame). And for a team thattook more 3-point shots (677)than anyone else in theconference, the Eaglesfinished only sixth inlong-range accuracy at 37.1percent.

3When the game’s on the line. The Eagleswere a study in contrast

last year at the free-throwline. Guards Tyler Harveyand Parker Kelly averagedclose to 90 percent, departedcenter Martin Seiferth hitjust 35 percent and forwardVenky Jois connected on 52.8percent. That was ahead-scratcher, because Joiswas hitting at a 71 percentclip in 2012-13. As a team, theEagles finished eighth in theconference at 69.3 percent –only eight-hundredths of apercent above last place. It allcame back to haunt them inthe last road game of theseason, a 71-69 loss at NorthDakota that included a12-for-25 effort at the line.

4No longer out of their depth?Overall, the Eagles are

a veteran team, “but ourdepth is still young,” saidHayford, whose 16-manroster includes nineunderclassmen. In thebackcourt, Hayford still hasjunior point Daniel Hill, buthe’s the only proven backupfor starter Drew Brandon;Redshirt freshman SirWashington adds depth atshooting guard. At forward,6-5 sophomore Felix VonHofe steadily gained playingtime last year, and 6-5 juniorGarrett Moon saw action.The Eagles have somepromising newcomers atforward, especially 6-8 juniorcollege transfer Kyle Reid.

5The luck factor.While fortune wasn’t asoutrageous as in 2012-13

(when they saw their startingpoint guard leave the teamand two key players hurt in acar accident), the Eaglesweren’t exactly blessed lastyear. Brandon was injured inthe stretch run, but gamelytried to play. Incredibly, a10-10 Big Sky record – thebest by a non-qualifier in 25years – wasn’t good enoughto make the seven-teamplayoff field. It all came downto a tie-breaker withSacramento State, which beatconference champion WeberState on a 3-point prayer,while Eastern’s Parker Kellybarely missed a 3-pointeragainst the Wildcats thatwould have sent the Eaglesinto the postseason.

KEYSto success

Another year older, another yearwiser?

That’s the idea, anyway, as JimHayford begins his fourth year in chargeof the Eastern Washington basketballprogram.

And he’s not talking only about hisplayers.

“Through these building years, it’s hardwhen you’re losing. A piece of you goeswhen you lose, but it’s made me a bettercoach, a better person,” Hayford saidbefore a recent practice.

Hayford hopes the same is true for anEagle program that has seen its share ofgrowing pains, but now appears poisedfor a big season with a talented, veteranlineup that’s everyone’s pick for a highfinish in the Big Sky Conference. Themedia picks them to finish third, thecoaches have them second, and everyonehas them reaching the conferencetournament they’ve missed the past twoseasons.

But will the Eagles – 15-16 overall lastyear and 10-10 in the Big Sky – fulfillexpectations, which for years have beendormant but suddenly are through theroof?

“Being a year older doesn’t necessarilymean we’re more mature,” Hayford said,this time of his players. “One of the thingsthat gives me confidence is that they’relooking back and realizing how muchthey didn’t know that they didn’t know.”

At the top of the list: defense,specifically the realization that you don’thave to score 80 points every time out.

In the Eagle locker room, Hayfordmaintains a large whiteboard, with abouttwo dozen benchmarks he’d like to hiteach game. Hit the benchmark and a tinyEagle logo goes on the board; miss the

mark and that spot remains blank. A major goal each game is to hold

opponents to less than 42 percentshooting, but that space remained emptyin 14 of 15 games during one drearymidseason stretch.

Who better to reinforce that point butjunior guard Tyler Harvey, the leadingscorer last year in the Big Sky?

“We have to do a better of stoppingteams,” Harvey said. “We’re not going toshoot 50 percent every game, and in somegames, we’re going to have to grind itout.”

That’s especially true on the road,where the Eagles were just 3-7 last year inconference play.

“If we could just make the strides onthe road that we made from a reallyyoung team at home, then we’re going tobe knocking on the door,” Hayford said.

For the players, that means digging alittle deeper “and not letting the otherteam get comfortable in their own gym,”Kelly said.

The Eagles certainly have the talent todo that, at home or away. In thebackcourt, it all starts with senior pointguard Drew Brandon, who brought some

needed stability to the position whileaveraging 10.4 points and 5.1 assists.Brandon also gave the rebounding game aboost with 6.4 boards a game,second-most on the team behind VenkyJois.

Brandon will direct what appears to bea three-guard lineup part of the time,looking to set up sharpshooters Harveyand Parker Kelly.

After a year with Brandon, “I knowwhat he’s thinking and he knows whatI’m thinking,” said Harvey, who averaged21.8 points a game, while shooting almostas well from 3-point range (43.3 percent)as he did overall (44.3 percent.)

The most dynamic player in the BigSky, Harvey also was streaky. During onefive-game stretch in January, he was 23for 65 from the field and 10 for 30 from3-point range, and the Eagles went 1-4.Harvey and the Eagles showed a mirrorimage of that in February, as Easternwent 4-1 while he shot 39 for 79 from thefield and an otherworldly 27 for 50 fromlong range.

“I just have to try to take what thedefense gives me,” said the 6-foot-4,185-pound Harvey.

Kelly, a 6-4, 195-pounder from GonzagaPrep, offers another big gun on theperimeter.

“I don’t think I’d trade our backcourtfor any in the Big Sky,” Hayford said.

Down low, the Eagles will rely morethan ever on Jois. The 6-foot-8 juniorpower forward from Australia, whoaveraged 13.4 points and eight rebounds,will be expected to carry a bigger load onthe boards after the departure of MartinSeiferth.

Hayford expects big things from rangyforwards Ognjen Miljkovic and Felix VonHofe. Miljkovic, a 6-7 Serbian whobulked up to 220 pounds last year, hit 36percent of his 3-point shots last year.

COLIN MULVANY [email protected]

Junior power forward Venky Jois will be counted on to be a force in the middle for Eastern Washington.

ON TARGETEastern has the experience, poise to make a run in Big Sky

By Jim [email protected], (509) 459-5437


Fourth-year coach Jim Hayfordwelcomes an experienced team.

1. Weber St. � 2. EWU

3. NAU 4. Sacramento St.

5. Montana 6. Idaho

7. No. Colorado8. Portland St.

9. Idaho St.10. North Dakota 11. Montana St.

12. Southern Utah

BIG SKYPREDICTED

FINISH ORDER

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (Previous school)0 Ognjen Miljkovic F 6-7 220 So. Belgrade, Serbia (Bishop Montgomery HS)1 Tyler Harvey G 6-4 185 Jr. Torrance, Calif. (Bishop Montgomery HS )2 Daniel Hill G 5-9 165 Jr. Sydney, Australia (Newington College HS)4 Sir Washington G 6-3 180 Fr. Las Vegas, Nevada (Clark HS)5 Nate Galgalo G 5-10 175 So. Spokane (Ferris HS)-10 Parker Kelly G 6-4 195 Sr. Spokane (Gonzaga Prep)11 Bear Henderson F 6-6 215 Fr. Mission Hills, Calif. (Village Christian HS)15 Will Ferris G 6-1 175 Fr. Bellevue (Newport HS)20 Cody Benzel G 6-4 175 Fr. Spokane, (Ferris HS)21 Frederik Jörg C 7-1 295 So. Korschenbroich, Germany (Eversten HS)22 Drew Brandon G 6-4 185 Sr. Corona, Calif. (Sierra College, Calif.)23 Kyle Reid F 6-8 215 Jr. Cleveland (Los Angeles Trade Tech)32 Bogdan Bliznyuk F 6-6 215 Fr. Lutsk, Ukraine / Todd Beamer HS '14 / -33 Garrett Moon F 6-5 190 Sr. San Francisco (City College of San Fran.)44 Felix Von Hofe F 6-5 200 So. Melbourne (Australian Institute of Sport)55 Venky Jois F 6-8 230 Jr. Boronia, Australia (Box Hill HS)

2014-15 EWU MEN’S ROSTER




SCORING

Tyler Harvey ................. 21.8Venky Jois .................... 13.4

REBOUNDS

Venky Jois ...................... 8.0

ASSISTS

Drew Brandon ................ 5.1

LEADINGRETURNERS

Jim HayfordRecord/years ............. 294-138/15

Assistants: Shantay Legans, Alex Pribble, David Riley

COACHING

PHOTOS: Colin Mulvany, The Spokesman-Review archive,Eastern Washington University

Pictured:High-scoringguard Tyler

Harvey returns forEWU, along withversatile big man

Venky Jois, inset above.

Staff graphic by Ralph Walter

2013-14 RECORD10-10 Big Sky, 15-16 overall

2014-15 SCHEDULEDate Opponent Time

Nov. 9 *Puget Sound 2:05 p.m.

Nov. 14 TexasSouthern

6:05 p.m.

Nov. 17 Utah Valley 5:05 p.m.

Nov. 19 Walla Walla 6:05 p.m.

Nov. 22 at SMU 4 p.m.

Nov. 24 at Indiana 4:30 p.m.

Nov. 26 Northern Ky. 6:05 p.m.

Nov. 30 EasternOregon

2:05 p.m.

Dec. 6 at Seattle 7:05 p.m.

Dec. 11 at SanFrancisco

7 p.m.

Dec. 14 atWashington

5 p.m.

Dec. 16 at SamHouston St.

4:30 p.m.

Dec. 19 at California 7 p.m.

Dec. 22 Lewis-ClarkSt.

6:05 p.m.

Jan. 1 Weber St. 2:05 p.m.

Jan. 3 Idaho St. 2:05 p.m.

Jan. 10 at Idaho 7:05 p.m.

Jan. 15 at Portland St. 7:05 p.m.

Jan. 17 at SacramentoSt.

7:05 p.m.

Jan. 22 NorthernColo.

6:05 p.m.

Jan. 24 North Dakota 2:05 p.m.

Jan. 31 Idaho 2:05 p.m.

Feb. 5 at Montana 6:05 p.m.

Feb. 7 at Montana St. 1:35 p.m.

Feb. 12 SacramentoSt.

6:05 p.m.

Feb. 14 Portland St. 2:05 p.m.

Feb. 19 at SouthernUtah

6:05 p.m.

Feb. 21 at NorthernAriz.

1:05 p.m.

Feb. 26 Montana St. 6:05 p.m.

Feb. 28 Montana 2:05 p.m.

March 5 at Idaho St. 6:05 p.m.

March 7 at Weber St. 6:05 p.m.

March12

Big Skyquarterfinals

TBA

March13

Big Skysemifinals

TBA

March14

Big Skychampionship

TBA

*-ExhibitionBig Sky Tournament at site of

regular-season champion

AT A GLANCEReese Court: 5,000 capacityTicket office: (509) 359-6059

THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW NOVEMBER 6, 2014 � THURSDAY � PAGE T3

Jahlil Okafor has yet to play a gamefor Duke. The hype surrounding hisarrival is all pegged to potential andwhat he accomplished against highschool players.

Had he come up in another era,Okafor would have stood no shot atbeing named a preseason All-American.Projections weren’t nearly enough forvoters to put a freshman on their ballots.

Times have changed. Following the precedent set by North

Carolina’s Harrison Barnes in 2010,

Okafor has become the third freshmanin the past five seasons to be named toThe Associated Press’ preseasonAll-America team, released Monday.

“I just have to realize that it’s just thepreseason expectations and to try to liveup to those expectations during theseason,” Okafor said.

The rest of the AP’s preseason teamhas a little more experience: NorthCarolina junior point guard MarcusPaige, Wisconsin senior forward FrankKaminsky, Louisville junior forwardMontrezl Harrell and Wichita Statejunior point Fred VanVleet.

Paige was the leading vote getter,

named on 58 ballots from the65-member national media panel, twoahead of Harrell.

The 6-foot-1 Paige took a huge leapfrom his freshman to sophomoreseasons, doubling his scoring average(to 17.5 points per game) whilebecoming one of the nation’s bestcrunch-time players — once he getsgoing.

A notoriously slow-starter, he spent agood portion of last season pouring it onlate: 35 points and the game-winneragainst North Carolina; 11 of 17 points inovertime against Davidson; 11 of 13 in thesecond half of a win at then-No. 1

Michigan State, 21 of 23 after halftimeagainst Kentucky.

His goal this season is to do it for anentire game, not just the second half.

“Obviously, my teammates know Ineed to be more aggressive and assertivethis year, and it kind of starts with me,”Paige said. “So I’m really worried aboutwhat I need to do team wise and I feelthe individual stuff that comes with itwill take care of itself if I do that.”

Harrell, who received 56 votes, was arole player during Louisville’snational-title run in 2013, taking a

PAIGE, HARRELL HEAD PRESEASON TEAMBy John Marshall

Associated Press

See AP TEAM, T12

POINTS

Sunny Greinacher ......... 11.8Lindsay Sherbert ......... 10.8

REBOUNDS

Sunny Greinacher ......... 5.4

ASSISTS

Lindsay Sherbert ........... 1.5

LEADINGRETURNERS

Lisa FortierRecord/years .......... First season

Assistants: Jordan Green, StacyClinesmith, Craig Fortier

COACHING

PHOTOS: Colin Mulvany, Dan Pelle,Tyler Tjomsland, Gonzaga University

Pictured:Expect theGonzaga

women to leanheavily on

seniors SunnyGreinacher and

LindsaySherbert, inset.


2013-14 RECORD13-4 WCC, 27-6 overall


Nov. 16 Dayton 2 p.m.

Nov. 18 Idaho State 6 p.m.

Nov. 21 at MontanaState

6 p.m.

Nov. 28 *American 3:30p.m.

Nov. 29 *Iowa 3:30p.m.

Dec. 3 at EasternWashington

6 p.m.

Dec. 7 Portland State 2 p.m.

Dec. 9 WashingtonState

6 p.m.

Dec. 12 at Wyoming 6 p.m.

Dec. 15 atNorthwestern

10 a.m.

Dec. 20 Southern Utah 2 p.m.

Dec. 27 BYU 2 p.m.

Dec. 29 San Diego 6 p.m.

Jan. 3 Portland 2 p.m.

Jan. 8 at SanFrancisco

7 p.m.

Jan. 10 at Santa Clara TBA

Jan. 15 Pepperdine 6 p.m.

Jan. 17 LoyolaMarymount

2 p.m.

Jan. 22 at SaintMary's

6 p.m.

Jan. 24 at Pacific 2 p.m.

Jan. 31 at Portland 2 p.m.

Feb. 5 Santa Clara 6 p.m.

Feb. 7 San Francisco 2 p.m.

Feb. 12 at LoyolaMarymount

TBA

Feb. 14 at Pepperdine 12 p.m.

Feb. 19 Saint Mary's 6 p.m.

Feb. 21 Pacific 2 p.m.

Feb. 26 at San Diego 6 p.m.

Feb. 28 at BYU 1 p.m.

March 5 WCC FirstRound

TBA

March 6 WCCQuarterfinal

TBA

March 9 WCCSemifinals

TBA

March10

WCCChampionship

TBA

AT A GLANCEMcCarthey Athletic Center:

6,000 capacityTicket office:

(509) 313-6000

*-Southpoint Shootout in Las Vegas

WCC Tournament in Las Vegas


No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr Hometown (Previous school)

1 Chelsea Waters G/F 6-1 Jr. Lewiston, ID (Lewiston)

3 Kacie Bosch G 5-9 Fr. Alberta, Canada (Chinook)

5 Georgia Stirton G 5-8 Jr. Melbourne, Australia (North Idaho College)

11 Laura Sullivan G 5-4 Sr. Seattle, WA (Holy Names Academy)

12 Emma Wolfram C 6-5 Fr. Kamloops, British Columbia (South Kamloops)

13 Jill Barta F 6-3 Fr. Fairfield, MT (Fairfield)

14 Sunny Greinacher F 6-4 Sr. Essen, Germany (Grashof Gymnasium )

22 Shaniqua Nilles F 6-0 Jr. Spokane, WA (West Valley)

23 Kiara Kudron F 6-2 Jr. New Boston, MI (Huron)

24 Keani Albanez G 5-10 Sr. Santa Barbara, CA (Buena)

31 Elle Tinkle G 6-2 Jr. Missoula, MT (Big Sky)

32 Melissa Holland G 5-7 So. Atherton, CA (Sacred Heart Prep)

33 Lindsay Sherbert G 6-0 Sr. Temecula, CA (Cal )

42 Emma Stach G 5-9 Fr. Buchholz, Germany

44 Shelby Cheslek C 6-5 Jr. Pullman, WA (Pullman)

� 1. Gonzaga2. BYU

3. Pacific4. San Diego

5. Saint Mary’s6. Loyola Marymount

7. Portland8. Santa Clara

9. San Franciso10. Pepperdine

WCCPREDICTED

FINISHORDER

Conference: WCCColors: Blue, white, red

Home court: McCartheyAthletic Center (6,000)Website: gozags.com

Head coach: LisaFortier, 1st season

Record at GU: 0-0Assistants: Jordan

Green, 1st season; CraigFortier, 1st; Stacy

Clinesmith, 1st2013-14: 29-5 overall,

16-2 West CoastLetterwinners: 9 back,

5 lostStarters: 3 back, 2 lost

Newcomers: 5

FAST FACTS2014-15 GU WOMEN’S ROSTER


DIVISION I WOMEN

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown (Prev School)

0 Ashley Bolston G 6-2 Fr. Medford, Ore. (South Medford HS)

1 Caila Hailey G 5-10 Fr. Inglewood, Calif. (Serra HS)

2 Krystle McKenzie G 5-8 Fr. Brisbane, Australia

3 Lia Galdeira G 5-11 Jr. Kamuela, Hawaii (Konawaena HS)

5 Tia Presley G 5-10 Sr. Spokane, Wash. (Gonzaga Prep)

10 Alexas Williamson G 5-9 Jr. Chino Hills, Calif. (Mater Dei HS)

11 Dawnyelle Awa G 5-9 Jr. Kealakekua, Hawaii (Konawaena HS)

12 Taylor Edmondson G 5-11 Jr. Carlsbad, N.M. (Carlsbad HS)

15 Ivana Kmetovska F 6-3 So. Skopeje, Macedonia (Orce Nikolov)

21 Nike McClure F 6-3 Fr. Tenino, Wash. (W.F. West HS)

22 Pinelopi Pavlopoulou G 5-8 Fr. Athens, Greece (ACS Athens)

23 Shalie Dheensaw C 6-4 Sr. Victoria, B.C. (Claremont Secondary)

24 Bianca Blanaru C 6-5 Fr. Timisoara, Romania

34 Mariah Cooks F 6-1 Jr. Santa Maria, Calif. (Ernest Righetti HS)

42 Louise Brown F 6-2 Fr. Melbourne, Australia

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown (Previous school)

1 Salvatore, Christina G 5-11 Jr. Anaheim, Calif. (Canyon H.S.)

2 Wilson, Karlee PG 5-4 So. Lewiston, Idaho (Lewiston H.S.)

4 Reilly, Brooke P 6-1 So. Spokane (Mt. Spokane H.S.)

10 Barr, Stacey G 5-8 Sr. Melbourne, Australia (Maribyrnong)

11 Corrigan, Tayla P 6-2 Jr. Adelaide, Australia (Mineral Area Col.)

12 Solo, Nejra P 6-5 Fr. Zenica, Bosnia (PRVA Gimnazija)

13 Forde, Ali P 6-2 Jr. Woodinville, Wash. (Woodinville H.S.)

14 Austgulen, Maren P 6-0 Sr. Bergen, Norway (Pinewood Prep.)

22 Krause, Bethany G 5-8 Fr. Centerville, Ohio (Centerville H.S.)

23 Mokrzycki, Renae G 6-0 Jr. Melbourne, Australia (NIC)

31 McCorkell, Geraldine P 6-0 Fr. Melbourne, Australia (P. & E. Grammar)

32 Trujillo, Agueda G 6-0 So. Manacor, Spain (IES CTEIB)

35 Ballestero, Connie G 5-9 Jr. Orange, Calif. (Villa Park H.S.)

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown (Previous School)

0 Osahor, Chantel F/C 6-2 So. Phoenix (Saint Mary's)

1 Johnson, Hannah F 6-1 Fr. Los Angeles (Bishop Alemany)

3 Walton, Talia F 6-2 Jr. Federal Way, Wash. (Federal Way HS)

10 Plum, Kelsey G 5-8 So. Poway, Calif. (La Jolla Country Day)

11 Gilling, Mathilde F/C 6-3 Jr. Rungsted, Denmark (Rungsted Gym)

13 Collier, Katie F/C 6-3 So. Covington, Wash. (Seattle Christian HS)

14 Corral, Heather G/F 6-1 So. Vancouver, Wash. (Prairie)

15 Lark, Khalia G/F 6-0 Fr. Irvine, Calif. (Mater Dei HS)

20 Kingma, Kelli G 5-8 Fr. Mill Creek, Wash. (Jackson HS)

21 Ruiz, Brianna G 5-10 Fr. Sacramento (Del Oro HS)

22 Atchley, Alexus G 5-9 Jr. Yorba Linda, Calif. (Yorba Linda HS)

23 Williams, Aminah F 6-0 Sr. Seattle (Kennedy HS)

32 Davis, Jazmine G 5-7 Sr. San Jose (Valley Christian HS)

42 Wieburg, Mackenzie G 5-9 Fr. Sammamish, Wash. (Issaquah HS)

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown (Previous school)

3 Kiana Brown G 5-8 Fr. Triangle Lake, Ore. (Triangle Lake HS)

4 Delaney Hodgins G 6-0 Fr. Pasco (Chiawana HS)

11 Cece Pearl F 5-11 So. Peoria, Ariz. (Peoria HS)

13 Lexie Nelson G 5-6 RS Sr. Butte, Mont. (Univ. of Montana)

20 Tisha Phillips G 5-9 So. Lapwai, Idaho (Lewiston HS)

22 Kayleigh Ryan G/F 5-10 Jr. Lynden, Wash. (Lynden Christian HS)

23 Mariah Cunningham F 6-0 Fr. Spokane (Central Valley HS)-

24 Miranda Mielke G 5-5 Jr. Davenport, Wash. (Davenport HS)

25 Hayley Hodgins G 5-10 Jr. Pasco (Chiawana HS)

33 Marly Anderson C 6-2 So. Portland (Glencoe HS)

34 Jade Redmon G 5-7 So. Spokane (Mead HS)

35 Haley Shaner F 5-11 Fr. Sacramento, Calif. (West Campus HS)

42 Melissa Williams F 6-1 Sr. Camas, Wash. (Camas HS)

55 Bethany Montgomery G 5-9 So. Tacoma (Wilson HS)

2014-15 WSU WOMEN’S ROSTER 2014-15 IDAHO WOMEN’S ROSTER

2014-15 UW WOMEN’S ROSTER 2014-15 EWU WOMEN’S ROSTER

Gonzaga women’s basketball player SunnyGreinacher has entered that zone where she knowseverything she does for the Bulldogs will be for the lasttime.

The 6-foot-4 forward from Essen, Germany, will beone of three senior scorers who will be relied upon asthe team furiously tries to get a couple of new guardsplaying within the system that has won or tied for theWest Coast Conference championship for the pastdecade and has made six consecutive trips to the NCAATournament.

“There is definitely a sense of urgency, knowing thisis my last year,” Greinacher said. “It’s just crazy. Thereis definitely that big urge to do especially good thisyear.”

In her first year as head coach, Lisa Fortier inherits asquad that finished 29-5 and lost to James Madison inthe first round of the NCAA tournament.

But after that game, the team lost its top scorer,Haiden Palmer, and a four-year-starting point guardJazmine Redmon to graduation. Then, top backup andfour-game starter, Danielle Walter, decided to followformer coach Kelly Graves to Oregon.

Not long after Graves arrived in Eugene, one ofGonzaga’s top guard recruits, Lexi Bando, flipped her

commitment to the Zags and instead became a Duck.That has left a McCarthey Athletic Center-sized door

open for newcomers Georgia Stirton (5-8 transfer fromNorth Idaho College), Emma Stach (5-9 freshman ofBuchholz, Germany) and Kacie Bosch (5-9 freshman ofLethbridge, Alberta).

“There is a big responsibility for those three on thepoint now,” Greinacher said. “They have done a greatjob so far. We also have more role players who are

stepping up and seeking the opportunity to do more.”Fortier said she plans to take all the time allowed to

make sure the new guards get acclimated to howGonzaga attacks other teams.

“Both Stirton and Emma Stach are really comingalong,” Fortier said. “It’s not as easy to learn theposition as the other four are. There are a lot ofintracacies in running a team and how we want them torun it. It’s not as easy as just learning the plays.”

As a result, Fortier said she will rely heavily onGreinacher, and fellow seniors Lindsay Sherbert, a6-foot wing, and 5-10 shooting guard Keani Albanez tolead the younger players and shoulder a heavier scoringload.

“The new players are doing the best they can, butthey need someone to guide them. Those guys(Sherbert, Greinacher and Albanez) are pulling themalong. They are gentle, yet firm, making sure they do itthe right way.

“They have been as helpful as we have been ascoaches in molding them into the point guards that wewant them to be.”

Provided the Zags get the ball up the court, opposingteams will not find anything easy in the paint when theyencounter Greinacher or returning 6-5 center ShelbyCheslek. She’s joined by another 6-5 center in Emma

SUNNY OUTLOOKAs long as new point guard emerges, senior Greinacher likes Gonzaga’s chances

TYLER TJOMSLAND [email protected]

Senior forward Sunny Greinacher, Gonzaga’s leading returning scorer, says she is playing with a sense of urgency in her final year with the Zags.

By Thomas [email protected], (509) 459-5495

DAN PELLE [email protected]

GU coach Lisa Fortier, along with assistant (andhusband) Craig Fortier, look for help in backcourt.

See WOMEN, T8

Conference: Pac-12Colors: Crimson and gray

Home court: Friel Court (11,671)Website: wsucougars.com

Head coach: June Daugherty, 8th seasonRecord at WSU: 73-146

Assistants: Mike Daugherty,8th; Brian Holsinger, 8th;

Ashley Grover, 3rd2013-2014: 17-17, 9-9 Pac-12Letterwiners: 8 back, 3 lost


Conference: Pac-12Colors: Purple and gold

Home court: Alaska Airlines Arena (10,000)

Website: gohuskies.comHead coach:

Mike Neighbors, 2nd seasonRecord at UW: 21-14

Assistants: Kevin Morrison, 3rd;Adia Barnes 3rd, Fred Castro, 1st2013-2014: 21-14, 10-8 Pac-12Letterwinners: 5 back, 1 lost


Conference: Big SkyColors: Red and white

Home court: Reese Court (6,000)

Website: goeags.comHead coach: Wendy Schuller,

14th seasonRecord at EWU: 177-207

Assistants: Bryce Currie, 1st;Jerise Freeman, 1st

2013-2014: 16-14, 12-8 Big SkyLetterwinners: 7 back, 4 lost


Conference: Big SkyColors: Silver and Vandal gold

Home court: Cowan Spectrum (7,000)Website: govandals.com

Head coach: Jon Newlee, 7th season

Record at Idaho: 93-95Assistants: Crista Sanford, 7th;

Kristi Zeller, 4th; Miranda Forry, 1st2013-2014: 25-9, 15-1 WAC

Letterwinners: 8 back, 2lostStarters: 4 back, 1 lost

Newcomers: 2





GONZAGA BULLDOGS

Przemek Karnowskiis 7-feet-1, 288pounds, and he’s not

done growing.Not in a physical sense.

He’s not getting taller. Hehas dropped some poundsand toned up since arrivingfrom Torun, Poland, threeyears ago.

Karnowski becomes moresettled in Spokane witheach passing day. He’s morecomfortable with thelanguage, his classes, whereto grab some food. He’sblossoming on thebasketball court, where heemerged as a force insidelast season.

“I was so shy my freshmanyear,” the junior center said. “It’sway different now. I have to stepup and show the young playersthat they can count on us(upperclassmen). I know how itwas to arrive here and get off theplane and go to classes and beconfused.

“I know how Domantas(Sabonis) feels. I show him whereto eat, introduce him to my friends.I know the English basketballlanguage. I know when coaches saysomething exactly what it means. Iremember my freshman year Ididn’t know what to say or how toact. For sure it’s big progress, butI’m still a little nervous aboutpresentations in class.”

It appears the best is yet to comefor Karnowski, who averaged 10.4points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.7 blockslast season. He’s in the best shapeof his life. His weight and body-fatpercentage is down. He’s gainedstrength and mobility

“He’s getting more comfortablein all facets of his life,” coach MarkFew said. “Looking back at some ofthe pictures from his freshmanyear, he’s in vastly better shape andshowing some of the things he cando.”

Karnowski appeared onGonzaga’s radar after assistantcoach Tommy Lloyd saw him playagainst Kevin Pangos’ Canadianteam at the U-17 worldchampionships in Germany. Lloydnoticed Karnowski had good feet,great hands and a soft touch on hisjump hook.

JESSE TINSLEY [email protected]

Gonzaga center Przemek Karnowski had a big impact as a sophomore, but figures to grow even more in his junior year.

COMFORT ZONETrim Karnowskifeeling more at

home with ZagsBy Jim Meehan

[email protected], (208) 765-7131

See KARNOWSKI, T9

1Depth. It’s never a problem having adeep bench, but juggling thenumbers and distributing playing

time can be tricky. Gonzaga is capable

of fielding two solid starting units butonly five can be on the court at one time.Players accustomed to being a primaryoption may have to adapt to differentroles and sacrifice personal objectives –minutes, points, all-conference, etc. –for overriding goals of the team.

2Stay healthy. It didn’t happen lastseason when Kevin Pangos and, toa lesser degree, Gary Bell Jr.,

battled lingering injuries and SamDower was sidelined early in the WCCcampaign. Pangos and Bell are healthyand form one of college basketball’smost experienced backcourts. GU’sdepth should be able to provide morerest for the senior duo and the startersin general. Somewhat overlooked in the2012-13 team’s rise to the program’s firstNo. 1 ranking was its relatively shortinjury list.

3Defense. Gonzaga has a niceblend of inside and outsidescoring options and most pundits

expect the Zags to be among thecountry’s top offenses. Their defenseseems to have the pieces to be stout, too.Bell is an accomplished defender, USCtransfer Byron Welsey has the size andstrength to guard athletic wings andPrzemek Karnowski is a quality rimprotector. Vanderbilt transfer EricMcClellan should be a factordefensively when he becomes eligible inJanuary.

4The Wesley factor. Last year atthis time it was the Colemanfactor. Projected as the WCC

preseason newcomer of the year bysome publications, Gerard Coleman’simpact never materialized and hetransferred to Georgetown (Ky.)College. Wesley led USC in scoring andrebounding last year and is a willingdefender. The Bulldogs would be morethan pleased if Wesley defends at a highlevel and can produce in the vicinity ofhis three-year USC averages of 12.4points and 5.3 rebounds.

5Dance longer. The Bulldogs areannual NCAA tournamentparticipants – and figure to be

again this season – but they haven’tplayed beyond the first weekend since2009. One theory for the Zags’ shorttournament stays is that the majority oftheir toughest tests occur in the first sixweeks of the season and they lose theiredge in the lightly regarded WCC. BYUand Saint Mary’s remain strong and SanDiego, Portland and San Francisco arecapable of crashing the top three so GUwill be tested in conference. Still, theZags need to find a way to improve fromstart to finish and carry that momentuminto the Big Dance.


Gonzaga senior Gary Bell, Jr., is a part of one of the most experienced backcourts in the nation.

KEYSto success




1. Stanford2. Oregon

3. USC4. California

5. Oregon State� 6. WSU

� 7. Washington8. Arizona State

9. UCLA10. Colorado

11. Utah12. Arizona

PAC-12 PREDICTEDFINISH ORDER


Nov. 14 Dayton 7 p.m.Nov. 16 Idaho State 1 p.m.Nov. 19 Nebraska 8 p.m.Nov. 21 Seattle TBANov. 25 at Hampton 4 p.m.Nov. 28 *Michigan 9 a.m.Nov. 29 *Maryland 5:30Dec. 4 at UCSB 4 p.m.Dec. 9 at Gonzaga TBADec. 20 Montana State 1 p.m.Dec. 22 at LMU 2 p.m.Jan. 3 at Arizona 11 a.m.Jan. 5 at Arizona St. 7 p.m.Jan. 9 California 5 p.m.Jan. 11 Stanford 1 p.m.Jan. 16 at Oregon St. 6 p.m.Jan. 18 at Oregon 1 p.m.Jan. 23 Utah 7 p.m.Jan. 25 Colorado 1 p.m.Jan. 31 at Stanford 12:30Feb. 2 at California 5 p.m.Feb. 6 Oregon 5 p.m.Feb. 8 Oregon State 2 p.m.Feb. 13 at Colorado 6 p.m.Feb. 15 at Utah 11 a.m.Feb. 20 at Wash. 7:30Feb. 22 Washington 1 p.m.Feb. 26 UCLA 7 p.m.Feb. 28 USC 3 p.m.March 5 Pac-12 first

round TBD

March 6 Pac-12quarterfinals

TBD

March 7 Pac-12semifinals

TBD

March 8 Pac-12championship

6 p.m.


Nov. 14 at Oklahoma 5 p.m.Nov. 20 South Dakota 7 p.m.Nov. 23 Yale 7:30Nov. 27 *Florida State 3:30Nov. 28 *Furman 1 p.m.Nov. 29 *Hartford 3:30Dec. 4 Seattle 7 p.m.Dec. 7 at Portland 2 p.m.Dec. 14 Grambling 12 p.m.Dec. 18 at SDSU 6 p.m.Dec. 20 at UC Riv. 5 p.m.Dec. 29 Texas A&M 6 p.m.Jan. 3 at Arizona St. 1 p.m.Jan. 5 at Arizona 5 p.m.Jan. 9 Stanford 7 p.m.Jan. 11 California 3 p.m.Jan. 16 at Oregon 8 p.m.Jan. 19 at Oregon St. 5 p.m.Jan. 23 Colorado 7 p.m.Jan. 25 Utah 11 a.m.Jan. 31 at California 2:30Feb. 2 at Stanford 7 p.m.Feb. 6 Oregon State 7 p.m.Feb. 8 Oregon 6 p.m.Feb. 13 at Utah 7 p.m.Feb. 15 at Colorado 4:30Feb. 20 WSU 7:30Feb. 22 at WSU 1 p.m.Feb. 26 USC 6 p.m.Feb. 28 UCLA 1 p.m.March 5 Pac-12 first

roundAll Day

March 6 Pac-12quarterfinals

All Day

March 7 Pac-12semifinals

All Day

March 8 Pac-12championship

6 p.m.


Nov. 14 at Utah Valley 3:30Nov. 18 Wichita St. 6 p.m.Nov. 22 at SMU 12 p.m.Nov. 24 at Ablne Chr. 5 p.m.Nov. 30 Central Wash. 4:35Dec. 3 Gonzaga 6 p.m.Dec. 12 St. Martin's TBADec. 14 at Boise St. 1 p.m.Dec. 17 Portland 6 p.m.Dec. 21 *Ga. Southern 9 a.m.Dec. 22 *TBD TBAJan. 1 at Weber St. 6 p.m.Jan. 3 at Idaho St. 1 p.m.Jan. 10 Idaho 2 p.m.Jan. 15 Portland St. 6 p.m.Jan. 17 Sac. St. 2 p.m.Jan. 22 at No. Colo. 6 p.m.Jan. 24 at N. Dakota 12 p.m.Jan. 31 at Idaho 2 p.m.Feb. 5 Montana 6 p.m.Feb. 7 Montana St. 2 p.m.Feb. 12 at Sac. St. 7 p.m.Feb. 14 at Portland St. 2 p.m.Feb. 19 Southern Utah 6 p.m.Feb. 21 Northern Ariz. 2 p.m.Feb. 26 at Montana St. 6 p.m.Feb. 28 at Montana 1 p.m.March 5 Idaho St. 6 p.m.March 7 Weber St. 2 p.m.March12

Big Skyquarterfinal

TBA

March13

Big Skysemifinal

TBA

March14

Big Skychampionship

TBA


Nov. 14 at Cal StateNorthridge

2 p.m.

Nov. 17 at UC SantaBarbara

7 p.m.

Nov. 22 San Diego 2 p.m.Nov. 25 at Wyoming 6 p.m.Nov. 29 at Seattle U 1 p.m.Dec. 4 at Oregon St. 11 a.m.Dec. 7 Multnomah 2 p.m.Dec. 10 at Baylor 5 p.m.Dec. 13 at Toledo 11:30Dec. 14 at Southeast

Missouri State9 a.m.

Dec. 20 Lewis-ClarkSt.

7 p.m.

Jan. 1 at Idaho St. 6 p.m.Jan. 3 at Weber St. 1 p.m.Jan. 10 at EWU 1 p.m.Jan. 15 Sac. St. 6 p.m.Jan. 17 Portland State 2 p.m.Jan. 22 at N. Dakota 5 p.m.Jan. 24 at No. Colo. 1 p.m.Jan. 31 EWU 2 p.m.Feb. 5 Montana State 6 p.m.Feb. 7 Montana 2 p.m.Feb. 12 at Portland St. 7 p.m.Feb. 14 at Sac. St. 2 p.m.Feb. 19 No. Arizona 6 p.m.Feb. 21 Southern Utah 2 p.m.Feb. 26 at Montana 6 p.m.Feb. 28 at Montana St. 1 p.m.March 5 Weber State 6 p.m.March 7 Idaho State 2 p.m.March12

Big Skyquarterfinal

TBA

March13

Big Skysemifinal

TBA

March14

Big Skychampionship

TBA

2013-14 RECORD9-9 Pac-12, 17-17 overall


2013-14 RECORD12-8 Big Sky, 16-14 overall

2013-14 RECORD15-1 WAC, 25-9 overall

*-at SanJuan, Puerto RicoPac-12 tournament in Seattle *-at Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico

*-Gator Holiday Classic at Gainesville, Fla.

Big Sky tournament at site ofregular-season champion

COACHING

June DaughertyRecord/years .................... 387-360/25

Assistants: Mike Daugherty, BrianHolsinger, Ashley Grover

LEADING RETURNERSScoring ........................ Tia Presley, 19.0Rebounds ......... Shalie Dheensaw, 6.6Assists .................. Dawnyelle Awa, 3.3

COACHING

Mike NeighborsRecord/years ............................. 20-14/1

Assistants: Kevin Morrison, FredCastro, Adia Barnes

LEADING RETURNERSScoring .................... Kelsey Plum, 20.9Rebounds ......... Aminah Williams, 10.4Assists ..................... Jazmine Davis, 3.2

COACHING

Wendy SchullerRecord/years ....................... 177-207/13

Assistants: Bryce Currie, JeriseFreeman, Alex Earl

LEADING RETURNERSScoring ..................... Lexie Nelson, 15.9Rebounds ........... Melissa Williams, 6.2Assists ..................... Jade Redmon, 3.4

COACHING

Jon NewleeRecord/years ....................... 221-209/15

Assistants: Christa Sanford, KristiZeller, Miranda Forry

LEADING RETURNERSScoring ....................... Stacey Barr, 18.2Rebounds ........................ Ali Forde, 7.9Assists .............. Connie Ballestero, 4.4


Wolfram, of Kamloops,British Columbia, whoredshirted last year.

Fortier even said shecould see a scenario whenboth 6-5 players are on thecourt at the same time.

“One (Cheslek) isdefensive minded and one(Wolfram) is more offensiveminded. She’s one of ourbest mid-range shooters,”Fortier said. “So, if we canget (Wolfram) and Shelbyworking togetherdefensively, then youcertainly can run themtogether. We’ll be tall if weget them both out there.That’s for sure.”

Sherbert, who averaged10.8 points last year, slashesto the basket and pops freefor long-range shots.Albanez works more as aspot-up shooter andGreinacher, who averaged11.8 points and 5.4rebounds, finds her pointsin transition and around thebasket.

The team also has severalother capable juniors in6-foot wing ShaniquaNilles, 6-2 forward KiaraKudron and 6-2 guard Elle

Tinkle. They are part of aroster that has nine players6 foot or taller.

Fortier wouldn’t predicthow she thinks her firstteam will finish, especiallygiven the upgradedcompetition in theconference. The teamopens the season at homeon Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. againstDayton.

“I hope it goes well,” shesaid. “I hope we can getthem to play as hard as theycan every day.”

Regardless of who stepsup on any given night,Greinacher said the playersare driven to keepGonzaga’s run of successalive.

“The people who haveleft Gonzaga or played forGonzaga, they deserve tohave the traditioncontinue,” she said.“Lindsay and Keani and Ileave next year. Then thenext seniors will have thatlegacy. We just pass it on.”

IdahoIdaho smashed the

competition last year in its finalyear in the Western AthleticConference as the Vandalswomen’s basketball teamearned its second-straight bid to

the NCAA Tournament. Coach Jon Newlee has four of

five starters returning and nowhas four players from Australia,including leading scorer StaceyBarr, who averaged 18.2 points agame.

The team has been picked tofinish third by coaches in its firstyear in its return to the Big Sky.The Vandals finished 25-9 and15-1in the WAC last year.

“We are trying to get our newplayers involved in everything asquickly as possible,” Newlee saidon the school’s website. “Wehave so many returners thatthey could get lost in the shufflea little bit.”

Newlee added two newfreshmen and two junior college

transfers in 6-foot post RenaeMokrzycki (North Idaho College)and 6-2 post Tayla Corrigan.

“They should be able to catchup pretty quick,” Newlee said ofMokrzycki and Corrigan. “Theyare experienced.”

EWUEastern Washington got off to

a slow start last year but theEagles women’s basketball teamrallied in Big Sky play to finishwith a winning record.

This year, Big Sky coachespicked Wendy Schuller’s squadto finish fifth. The Eagles returnleading scorer and All Big-Skysenior guard Lexie Nelson. She’sjoined by starter Hayley Hodginsand late-season starters in seniorMelissa Williams and sophomoreJade Redmon on a team thatfinished 16-14 and 12-8 in the BigSky.

“We've got a really, reallysolid core of kids that have beenin the program and know howwe play and have bought intowhat we want to do,” Schullersaid on the school’s website.“They've put a culture into ourprogram this year that is whatwe feel like we need in order tobe successful.”

The team seemed to turn acorner once Redmon (Mead),younger sister to formerGonzaga guard Jazmine

Redmon, took over the startingpoint-guard position.

“In a lot of ways, how Jadegoes is how we're going to go,”Schuller said. “She's that type ofpoint guard who can change agame with her ability to get intothe lane on offense and hertenacity on defense.”

WSUThe Washington State

women’s basketball team islooking for more after finishingthird in the Pac-12 Tournamentand playing in the postseasonfor the first time in 23 yearswhen it played in the Women'sNational Invitation Tournament.

The team finished 17-17 and9-9 in the Pac-12.

“I’m really excited,” CoachJune Daugherty said on theschool’s website. “It’s not just theexcitement, it’s the expectationto build upon that and get to thepostseason and get to theNCAA tournament. It issomething that is definitelydriving us.”

The team returns the 1-2scoring punch of Lia Galdeiraand Tia Presley, of Spokane, whoboth were named to the AllPac-12 first team last year.Presley led the team in scoringwith 19 per game, followed byGaldeira’s 18.5. The Cougars alsoadded seven new freshmen.

“We are way longer andathletic, whether it is in the postor guard position,” Daughertysaid. “We are very excited aboutthat.”

UWThere will be no lack of

experience on a Husky team thatput together its third-straight20-win season and made it tothe quarterfinals of the WNIT.

The Huskies’ spotlight shouldshine on the backcourt withsenior Jazmine Davis andsophomore Kelsey Plum.

Davis can become the firstUW player to earn fourAll-Pac-12 first team honors. Sheneeds just 276 points to becomeUW’s all-time leading scorer.

Continued from T5WOMEN

� 1. Idaho2. Southern Utah3. North Dakota

4. Montana� 5. EWU

6. Idaho State7. Sacramento State

8. Montana State9. Northern Arizona

10. No.Colorado11. Portland State12. Weber State

BIG SKY PREDICTEDFINISH ORDER

he has so muchconfidence and hemakes that evidentfor everyone. Thatthe difference.”

Brett Boese, whgraduated fromShadle Park, has bea 3-point marksmain practice. Actualso has sophomoreforward JoshHawkinson, the oncontributor whodidn’t attempt anypointers last seaso

“I’ve been workon my game steppiout and shooting 3so that’s probably

something you’ll see this year that I didnget to show off last year,” Hawkinson sai“It’s all within the offense, doing your jobsetting the screens but if you have an ope


WASHINGTON S

But the losses piled up, Beasley Coliseumstarted to look like Beasley Mausoleum andMoos went out in search of a rainmaker,who could bring wins eventually andexcitement and fans right now. Enter Kent,a coach whose top priority is to simplyinject some confidence into a program thathasn’t finished higher than eighth in theconference since the 2010-2011 season.

“With this group they’ve not had a lot ofsuccess and they are working extremelyhard,” Kent said. “The biggest thing withthis group is you have to change the culture

PULLMAN – The fact Ernie Kent is even at Washington State means that he has a tall taskahead of him to make the Cougars a competitive team. If the team hadn’t sunk to a levelwhere it barely reached double-digit wins, then his old friend, athletic director Bill Moos,

would never have come calling, and Kent would still be watching WSU games as an analyst for thePac-12 networks.

of the way it has been before that has notallowed them to have success and that’swhat we’re working on right now in allaspects of the program.”

Early reports are positive, as they alwaysare in the preseason when everyone looksbigger, stronger, and better until the gamesstart and opponents have improved as well.

Kent and his staff have made positivity apriority and have given everyone a greenlight to shoot.

“I believe the production is there in anyplayer and I’m the most positive guy there

is out there in terms of a coach because Ithink everybody has a game in them,” Kentsaid. “The key thing is whether or not theybelieve that and if I can get them to believethat.”

Last year the offense was DaVonte Lacy,who averaged 19.4 of WSU’s 62.4 points pergame. But even the team’s most prolificshooter feels more offensive freedom.

“Last year I had a green light,” Lacy said.“With coach Kent, I really feel like there isno light in that sense. If I have a shot I’mshooting and he feels the same way because

SHARING THE LOVE: Men’s basketball coach Ernie Kent is Washington State’s ambassador of positive vibes, spreading his can-do message to the Cougar fait

CULTURE CH


ABOVE: One of the biggest tasks facing new coach Ernie Kent is to get the fan base excited about watching basketball at Friel Court,

where the team averaged a dismal 2,800 fans last season.

Ernie Kent brings new attitude to Pullman to help revive downtroStories by Jacob Thorpe � [email protected], (509) 710-8070

PAC-12PREDICTED

FINISHORDER1. Arizona

2. Utah3. Colorado

4. UCLA5. Stanford6. California

7. Washington� 8. WSU

9. Arizona St.10. USC

11. Oregon St.12. Oregon



tt’s

o

eenanly,

nly

y 3n.

kinging

3s,

n’tid.ben

TATE COUGARSTHE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW NOVEMBER 6, 2014 � THURSDAY � PAGE T11

shot (Kent) encourages you to take all theopen shots you can get.”

When Kent arrived he had to put theprogram, which had been rudderless sincethe dismissal of coach Ken Bone, back ontrack. And that started with players thathe’d never coached.

“Any time you have a coaching change,you have a period of time whereeverybody’s wondering what’s going tohappen and I think there can be someslippage there,” Kent said. “What I meanby ‘stabilizing,’ D.J. Shelton, he’s chasingan NBA thing – we needed to make sure hegraduated. We got that accomplished.Royce Woolridge had to graduate, JamesHunter had to graduate so every senior thatleft the program is either graduated orright there to graduate. Will DiIorio is herenow finishing up to graduate.”

Besides simply taking care of the playersit was important to make sure those playersgraduated so that the Cougars wouldn’tsuffer a hit in the Academic Progress Rate,

an NCAA performance metric where theCougars have fared poorly in recent yearsand could be at risk for a postseason ban.With that taken care of, the Cougars havespent the last month installing Kent’smotion offense and the defensiveprinciples of assistant coach SilveyDominguez, the team’s “defensivecoordinator.”

The Cougars will run mostly a mandefense with some matchup zone. As theplayers’ talents become more apparent theoffense will evolve to play to theirstrengths.

But more important for now is gettingthe players to buy in to the new staff and tocontinue to embrace change for its ownsake, because what they were doing simplywasn’t working.

“They’ve got to understand you cannotbring a new staff, new style of play, newsystem, but bring back the same habits,”Kent said. “Because you’re going to get thesame results.”


hful starving for a turnaround to a program that has fallen on hard times.

1Keep Lacy healthy. A burstappendix, broken ribs and twoseparate knee injuries have

kept Washington State’s bestplayer off the court the past twoseasons. Lacy led the Cougarswith 19.4 points per game –which would have ranked secondin the league if only injurieshadn’t prevented him fromreaching the minimum number ofgames played. He drew most ifnot all of the opposing defense’sattention, so if new coach ErnieKent is going to be able toimprove an offense that rankeddead-last in the conference inpoints per game he’s going toneed Lacy on the floor, not at thetrainer’s table.

2Que up some points. QueJohnson was understand-ably sporadic as a freshman

but still showed enough is hisfirst Pac-12 go-round to start 14games and lead the team inscoring eight times. The guard isa pure shooter with a knack forscoring and he has filled up thestat sheet during early-seasonpractices. Now Kent and theCougars need him to improve onhis 9.5 points per game averagefrom last season, relieving someof the pressure defenses put onLacy and opening up the entirefloor by giving the Cougars twodeadly scorers.

3Rebounding. Last yearWashington State rankedlast in the conference in

rebounds, corralling just 32.8 pergame. Before they can hope toimprove on that level ofproduction, however, the Cougarsmust figure out how to match it.D.J. Shelton pulled in nearly athird of WSU’s rebounds lastseason, 9.6 per game, and he’snow graduated and moved on topursue a professional career.Sophomore Josh Hawkinson hasto be ready to be a majorcontributor and Jordan Railey’srebounding numbers need to goup substantially. Still, everyoneneeds to crash the boards hard,guards included, for WSU to be abetter rebounding team.

4Fan excitement. TheCougars rarely had much ofa home-court advantage

last season playing in front ofsmall, dead crowds. Their averagehome attendance of 2,800 wasthe lowest mark in the conferenceby more than 1,000 fans per gameand there were rarely that manyfans actually in attendance. Thefans that did show up rarely hadmuch to cheer about. But the onetime the Cougars had more than5,000 fans show up to a gamethey played inspired ball to beatrival Washington. If Kent’s arrivalcan create enough buzz to bringfans out to games it would go along way toward making BeasleyColiseum a tough place to play.

5A forward that canscore from outside.Shelton wasn’t just a

contributor on the boards, he wasalso the only WSU player besidesLacy to hit double figures inscoring, averaging 10.1 points pergame. His ability to become athreat from the outside and drawinterior defenders away from therim will be missed unlessHawkinson or Junior Longrusbecome consistent threats facingthe rim. Longrus displayed a goodmidrange jump shot last seasonand Hawkinson has beenshooting 3-pointers in practices.

ANGE

Associated Press photos

ABOVE: Washington State guard DaVonte Lacy says new coach Ernie Kent has instilled confidence. LEFT: Ernie Kent creates a positive atmosphere. “I think everybody has a game in them.”

odden WSU basketball program

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown

0 Ike Iroegbu G 6-2 190 So. Sacramento, Calif.

1 Jackie Davis G 6-4 195 Fr. Long Beach, Calif.

3 Ny Redding G 6-2 180 Fr. Cleveland, Ohio

4 Jordan Railey C 7-0 245 RSr. Beaverton, Ore.

10 Dexter Kernich-Drew G 6-7 190 RSr. Melbourne, Australia

11 Trevor Dunbar G 5-10 175 Fr. San Francisco

15 Junior Longrus F 6-7 240 Jr. Oakland, Calif.

20 Aaron Cheatum F 6-7 240 Jr. Moreno Valley, Calif.

21 Dominic Ballard G 6-4 199 RJr. Seattle

24 Josh Hawkinson F 6-10 245 So. Shoreline, Wash.

25 DaVonté Lacy G 6-4 210 Sr. Tacoma

30 Marcus Graham G 6-3 180 Jr. Boise

32 Que Johnson G 6-5 205 RSo. Pontiac, Mich.

33 Brett Boese F 6-7 230 Jr. Spokane

45 Valentine Izundu C 6-10 215 Jr. Houston, Texas

Associated Press

A healthy DaVonte Lacy will becrucial to WSU’s success.


A hot hand from Que Johnsonwill take the pressure off Lacy.

Associated Press

The Cougars need Jordan Railey’srebounding numbers to improve.


Fan excitement is one of the keysto WSU’s success this season.

Associated Press

Forward Junior Longrus will becounted on for perimeter scoring.

KEYSto success

2014-15 COUGARS MEN’S ROSTER

Conference: Pac-12. Colors: Crimson and Gray. Ticket office: 1 (800) 462-6847.Home court: Beasley Coliseum (11,671). Website: wsucougars.com. Head coach:Ernie Kent. Record: 325-254, 19 seasons Assistants: Curtis Allen, 6th season; GregGraham, 1st season; Silvey Dominguez, 1st season. 2013-14: 10-21 overall, 3-15 Pac-12.

Letterwinners: 9 back, 3 lost. Starters: 3 back, 2 lost. Newcomers: 5.

FAST FACTS




POINTS

DaVonte Lacy ............... 19.4Que Johnson ................. 9.5

REBOUNDS

DaVonte Lacy ................ 4.2

ASSISTS

Ike Iroegbu ..................... 1.5

LEADINGRETURNERS

Ernie KentRecord/years ........... 325-254/19

Assistants: Greg Graham, SilveyDominguez, Curtis Allen

COACHING

*-Opening game of Great AlaskaShootout in Anchorage

Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas

PHOTOS: Associated Press, Jesse TinsleyWashington State University

Pictured:DaVonte Lacyand backcourt

mate Ike Iroegbu,inset below, lead

the way forWashington

State.




Nov. 7 Azusa Pacific 7 p.m.

Nov. 14 at UTEP 7 p.m.

Nov. 17 at TCU 5 p.m.

Nov. 21 Idaho State 6 p.m.

Nov. 27 *UC SantaBarbara

9 p.m.

Nov. 28 TBA, GreatAlaskaShootout

TBA

Nov. 29 TBA, GreatAlaskaShootout

TBA

Dec. 3 Idaho 7 p.m.

Dec. 6 UTSA Noon

Dec. 10 at Gonzaga(Arena)

8 p.m.

Dec. 13 at Santa Clara 7 p.m.

Dec. 21 San JoseState

4 p.m.

Dec. 28 UC Davis 3 p.m.

Jan. 2 at Stanford Noon

Jan. 4 at California 3 p.m.

Jan. 10 atWashington

Noon

Jan. 15 Oregon 8 p.m.

Jan. 17 Oregon State 6 p.m.

Jan. 21 at Utah 6 p.m.

Jan. 24 at Colorado 5 p.m.

Jan. 29 California 8 p.m.

Jan. 31 Stanford 5 p.m.

Feb. 5 at OregonState

7 p.m.

Feb. 8 at Oregon 4 p.m.

Feb. 13 Arizona State 8 p.m.

Feb. 15 Arizona 3:30 p.m.

Feb. 22 Washington 5:30 p.m.

Feb. 25 at USC 7 p.m.

March 1 at UCLA 6:30 p.m.

March 5 Utah 8 p.m.

March 7 Colorado 3:30 p.m.

March11

Pac-12 firstround

All Day

March12

Pac-12quarterfinals

All Day

March13

Pac-12semifinals

All Day

March14

Pac-12championship

8 p.m.

AT A GLANCEBeasley Coliseum:

11,671 capacityTicket office: (509) 335-9626


backseat to players like Russ Smith andPeyton Siva.

He’s expected to hoist the talentedCardinals on his broad shoulders thisseason.

An athletic, 6-foot-8, 240 pounds,Harrell was a handful for opposingteams last season, averaging 14 pointsand 8.4 rebounds while shooting 60percent from the floor. After bypassinga shot at the NBA, he spent theoffseason working on his midrangegame, making him even tougher to stop.

“Montrezl is everything a first-teamAll-America should be,” Louisvillecoach Rick Pitino said. “He’s worked atmaking his game better and I’m real

proud of him.” Kaminsky turned himself into an

All-American in his three years withWisconsin.

The 7-footer was little more than arole player his first two seasons inMadison, averaging 4.2 points as asophomore. He made one of the mostdramatic improvements in the countrylast season, becoming a nightmarematchup with his ability to score insideor out and swat shots away on defense.

Kaminsky led the Badgers to theirfirst Final Four since 2000 and spurneda chance at the NBA in hopes of gettingthem all the way to a championship thisyear.

“Going as far as we did and being soclose is obviously painful,” he said.“And it’s tough to block that out of our

mind when you were so close to gettingto the championship game, and you’reone possession away. That’s been prettymotivating for me.”

VanVleet had a difficult road to gethere.

His father, Fred Manning, was shotand killed in 1999 when he was 5, so heand his brother Darnell were raisedtheir mother, Susan.

The hard-working VanVleet madethe most of his opportunities andreceived on-the-job training fromsenior Malcom Armstead during theShockers’ Final Four run in 2012-13 as afreshman. Last season, he blossomedinto one of the nation’s best pointguards, averaging 11.6 points, 5.4 assistsand 4.02-to-1 turnover-to-assist ratio.

“It’s nice that such a great player and

great representative of our program isbeing honored in such a way, but it’sever more special the quality ofindividual he is,” Shockers coach GreggMarshall said. “He’s a great, greatyoung man, he’s persevered andovercome some tough circumstancesearly in his life to be an exemplarycollege basketball student athlete.”

Okafor has just started his life as acollege athlete.

The 6-foot-11 forward from Chicagowas the MVP of the McDonald’sAll-American game and was consideredby many recruiting services as the No. 1overall player in his class. Okafor has awide wingspan, good footwork, andarrives in Durham with a polished gameand an NBA-ready body.

He just hasn’t played a college game.

Continued from T3AP TEAM


JUNIOR COLLEGES

As a child, Dean Richey didn’t realizehe was poor, even when living in acamper with his grandmother.

But by the time he became a troubledadolescent, Richey knew somethingwasn’t right with his life, and thatsomething started with a mother whohad given birth at age 16 and a father whohad never been in his life.

Seeing Richey as he is now, as awell-adjusted adult and 6-foot-5sophomore leader on the CommunityColleges of Spokane men’s basketballteam, it’s clear that something dramatichappened to him in the last four years.

Put simply, other families took Richeyin as one of their own, allowing him tomend his rift with his mother andbecome the person that others canadmire.

“I would never change one hardship,one obstacle,” Richey said. “I wouldnever change anything I’ve ever beenthrough in my life, because I’ve seen somany walks of life. … I’m not saying I’m agreat person, but I understand life and Iunderstand anything I could gothrough.”

“Dean’s going to take this and he’sgoing to run with it,” CCS coach JeremyGroth said. … “When it’s all said anddone, Dean’s story is going to be a greatstory, as far as getting a degree at the endand bettering his own situation.”

Richey doesn’t fault his mother, Fawn,because he knows the two of thembasically grew up together. As a child,Richey was shuttled between his motherand grandmother, Aurellia, whom hecalls his “superhero.” Money was tight,food was scarce, and there was no malefigure to stand up to Richey when hismiddle-school friends offered cigarettes,alcohol and reckless diversions.

Richey said he failed two classes as a

freshman at Lewis and Clark. His momkicked him out of the house, leading himto move in with his grandmother andtransfer to Rogers.

Richey moved back and returned toLC as a sophomore, but the argumentscontinued. He said his mom “rightfully”kicked him out again, but this time fatedealt Richey a winning hand.

Richey was invited to move in with theDamon family, Clay and Ann, whose sonAustin was his friend and LC basketballteammate.

“That was one of the greatest thingsthat ever happened to me … because theygave me the fundamental home structurethat I never had and always needed,”Richey said. “I didn’t know what it waslike to not have fighting at home.”

When Austin left for college, Richeymoved in with Kelly and Sally Stopher,who continue to offer him their home.Kelly had been Richey’s AAU coach andthe person who encouraged him whenplaying time at LC was infrequent.

Despite his solid freshman numbers atCCS last season (12.9 points, 4.65rebounds and 3.23 assists per game),Richey said he rarely played as a junior atLC.

Richey said Groth actively recruitedhim out of AAU fall league, where he“played free and had fun.”

“You could just tell from watchingDean in high school that he had some ofthat ‘it’ factor that some good playersreally have,” Groth said. “Dean wasreally competitive, he wanted to win, hegot his teammates involved and he wasjust a joy to watch.”

Now Richey is at the best point of hislife, set up to continue his basketball at afour-year school and get a degree. Hecontinues to improve his life, includinghis relationship with his mother, whonow has two young children and a fiance.

“Living with the Stophers and Damonsreally improved my relationship with mymom because it gave me a healthydistance and helped me grow,” Richeysaid … “Now she knows what she’s doing.When it was me and her, she didn’t haveany help from anybody.”

Richey recently broke a knuckle on hisright hand while dunking after practice.He hopes to be fully healed by theSasquatch’s Nov. 25 opener at SalishKootenai College in Pablo, Montana.

Until Richey returns, the Sasquatchmay start five freshmen: 6-5 wing/postRace Martin of Pullman; 6-2 point guardKage Sobotta, Clarkston; 6-1 guard JacobDeVries; 6-3 wing Jake Love, WestValley High; and 6-7 Dalton Patchen,Colton.

“Last year we had Qwinn Hanson, oneof the best big guys in our NWAC region,and this year we’ll have some insidepresence, for sure, but we’re reallyguard-heavy this year,” Groth said. “Wejust have more pieces this year, guys who


CCS sophomore guard Dean Richey has had to watch practice while his hand heals, but should be ready to go when the Sasquatch open the season on Nov. 25.

DEAN’S STORYCCS guard overcomes rough start, thanks to nurturing families

By Chris [email protected], (509) 459-5502


CCS coach Jeremy Groth says guardDean Richey is a joy to watch.

See RICHEY, T19

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. High school

1 Dean Richey W 6-5 So. Lewis & Clark2 Kyle Johnson G 5-11 Fr. Colfax3 Kage Sobotta G 6-2 Fr. Clarkston4 Jake Love W 6-3 Fr. West Valley5 Kellen Miller G 6-1 Fr. Freeman10 Jacob DeVries G 6-1 Fr. Richland13 Paris Estrada G 6-2 Fr. Durango (NV)14 Chase McDuffie G 5-11 So. North Central15 Race Martin W 6-5 Fr. Pullman20 JJ Winger W 6-3 Fr. Lake City (ID)22 Orin Porter W 6-2 Fr. Incline Village (Nev.)24 AJ Knudsen G 6-1 Fr. Central Valley32 Dalton Patchen W 6-7 Fr. Colton33 Brady Bergman C 6-6 Fr. West Valley40 Justin Holbrook C 6-5 Fr. Coronado (Ariz.)42 Jon Thompson C 6-5 Fr. Timberlake (Idaho)

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown

0 Jamaal Robateau G 6-5 Fr. Sun. Cst., Australia 1 Lucas Antunez G 6-3 Fr. Madrid, Spain 2 Will Dorsey G 5-8 So. Seattle 3 Djuan Piper G 6-7 Fr. Seattle 4 Marcus Harris G 6-4 Fr. Puyallup, Wash. 5 D’Adrian Allen F 6-8 So. Brampton, Ontario 10 Zaequan Satterthwaite F 6-6 Fr. Puyallup, Wash. 11 Braian Angola-Rodas G 6-6 Fr. Villnva, Colombia20 Fuquan Niles C 6-10 So. Seattle 21 Jordan King G 6-4 So. Seattle 22 Kyle Guice G/F 6-7 Fr. Coeur d’ Alene 23 Charlie Lockwood F 6-11 Fr. Inglewood, Calif. 24 David Baze G 6-6 So. Las Vegas, Nev. 31 Ty Higbie G/F 6-6 So. Coeur d’ Alene 32 Austin Pope G 6-6 So. Burbank, Calif. 33 Kellen Dohrman F 6-8 Fr. Post Falls

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. High school

4 Karlee Martin G 5-5 So. ACH10 Jaida Burgess G 5-5 Fr. Spring-Ford, Penn.11 Khadija Neumeyer G 5-8 Fr. Capital, Idaho12 Rayla Lohman G 5-5 Fr. Lewiston14 Briana King G 5-4 Fr. North Central15 Bianca Gonzales G 5-3 So. Chiawana20 Aurorah Davis F 6-0 So. Quincy22 Mackenzie Reddish G 5-7 Fr. Rosalia24 Jessica Boyer W 5-5 Fr. Wilbur-Creston32 Jamila Shafer W 5-8 Fr. Grandview34 Emily Schramm G 5-6 So. Chelan40 Amanda Bearmedicine F 5-9 So. Sentinel, Mont.42 Jennifer Gonzales W 5-7 Fr. Chiawana44 Gese Gruber F 5-11 Fr. Ellensburg50 Jenessa Heine F 5-10 Fr. Flathead, Mont.

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Home Town

5 Samara Hill G 5-8 Fr. Frnkstn., Australia10 Katie King G 5-3 So. Post Falls12 Maci Benedict G 5-7 Fr. Lebanon, Ore. 15 Bailey Schroeder G 5-9 So. Benton City, Wash. 21 Shelby Cloninger G/F 6-0 So. Kamiah, Idaho 22 Ryleigh Swagerty G 5-4 So. Burlington, Wash. 23 Kara Staggs G 5-7 So. Okanogan, Wash. 24 Monica Landdeck G 5-8 Fr. Issaquah, Wash.25 Sabrina Earle F 6-1 So. Medical Lake 32 Caitlyn Behymer P 5-11 So. Okanogan33 Mariah Swanson F 5-11 Fr. Burlington, Wash.44 Grace Varcoe P 6-1 Fr. Gold Cst., Australia55 Panisesi Taimani P 6-1 So. Kennewick

CCS MEN Date Opponent Time (p.m.)Nov. 21 Alumni Game 8Nov. 25 at Salish Kootenai College 5Nov. 28-30 *at Red Devil Classic TBADec. 5-7 Bigfoot Classic TBADec. 12-14 #Dale J Bates Invitational TBADec. 18-20 %NWAC Crossover TBAJan. 2 at Everett CC 8Jan.3 at Whatcom CC 2Jan.10 at Wenatchee Valley Col. 4Jan.16 Treasure Valley CC 8Jan.17 Blue Mountain CC 4Jan.21 at Walla Walla CC 8Jan.24 Columbia Basin College 4Jan.28 at Yakima Valley CC 8Jan.31 at Big Bend CC 4Feb. 7 Wenatchee Valley College 4Feb. 13 at Blue Mountain CC 8Feb. 14 at Treasure Valley CC 3Feb. 18 Walla Walla CC 8Feb. 21 at Columbia Basin College 4Feb. 25 Yakima Valley CC 8Feb. 28 Big Bend CC 4March 7-10 &NWAACC Tournament TBA

* - Longview CC; # - Eugene; % -Clackamas CC; & - Kennewick

CCS WOMEN Date Opponent Time (p.m.)Nov. 21 CCS Alumni 6Nov. 23 Bellevue College 2Nov. 28-30 at Thanksgiving tourney* TBADec. 7 Centralia College TBADec. 12-14 at Everett Holiday Classic TBADec. 18-20 Spokane NWAC Crossover TBADec. 28-30 at Skagit Valley tourney TBAJan. 5 North Idaho College 6Jan. 10 at Wenatchee Valley Col. 2Jan. 16 Treasure Valley CC 6Jan. 17 Blue Mountain CC 2Jan. 21 at Walla Walla CC 6Jan. 24 Columbia Basin College 2Jan. 28 at Yakima Valley CC 6Jan. 31 at Big Bend CC 2Feb. 7 Wenatchee Valley College 2Feb. 13 at Blue Montain CC 6Feb. 14 at Treasure Valley CC 1Feb. 18 Walla Walla CC 6Feb. 21 at Columbia Basin College 2Feb. 25 Yakima Valley CC 6Feb. 28 Big Bend CC 2March 7-10 at NWAACC tourney# TBA

* - Glendale, Ariz.; # - Kennewick

NIC MENDate Opponent Time (p.m.)Nov. 6 Gonzaga University Club 7:30Nov. 8 NIC All-Stars 7:30Nov. 11 at Salish Kootenai College 5Nov. 14 Salish Kootenai College 6Nov. 21 at Chemeketa CC 6Nov. 22 at Portland CC 4Nov. 25 Columbia Basin 7:30 Dec. 2 at Columbia Basin 7:30 Dec. 5-7 *Everett 2Dec. 13 at College of So. Idaho 4Dec. 18 at Colorado Northwestern 6:30 Dec. 20 at Utah State-Eastern 4Dec. 29 Medicine Hat College 8Dec. 31 Blue Mountain CC 8Jan. 8 at Salt Lake CC 6:30 Jan. 10 at Snow College 4Jan. 17 College of So.Idaho 5Jan. 22 Utah State-Eastern 7:30 Jan. 24 Colorado Northwestern 5Jan. 29 Snow College 7:30 Jan. 31 Salt Lake CC 5Feb. 7 at College of So. Idaho 6:30 Feb. 12 Utah State-Eastern 7:30 Feb. 14 Colorado Northwestern 5Feb. 19 at Snow College 6:30 Feb. 21 at Salt Lake CC 4Feb. 26-28 at Region 18 tourney# TBA

* - Bigfoot Classic at Spokane Falls CC; #- at USU-Eastern

NIC WOMENDate Opponent Time (p.m.)Nov. 8 North Idaho All-Stars 5:30 Nov. 22 Bellevue College 5:30 Nov. 25 Columbia Basin College 5:30 Nov. 28 Casper College 7:30 Nov. 29 Casper College 3Dec. 2 at Columbia Basin College 5:30 Dec. 6 Centralia College 5:30 Dec. 13 at College of So. Idaho 2Dec. 18 at Colorado NW CC 4:30 Dec. 20 at Eastern Utah 2Dec. 28 at Whatcom CC 3 pDec. 28-30 Holiday Classic* TBAJan. 2 Trinity Western University 5:30 Jan. 3 Trinity Western University 3Jan. 5 at Spokane CC 6Jan. 8 at Salt Lake CC 4:30 Jan. 10 at Snow College 2Jan. 17 College of Southern Idaho 3Jan. 22 Eastern Utah 5:30 Jan. 24 Colorado NW CC 3Jan. 29 Snow College 5:30 Jan. 31 Salt Lake CC 3 pFeb. 7 at College of So. Idaho 4:30 Feb. 12 Utah State- Eastern 5:30 Feb. 14 Colorado NW CC 3Feb. 19 at Snow College 4:30 Feb. 21 at Salt Lake CC 2Feb. 26-28 Region 18 tourney# TBA

* - Longview, Wash.; # - Price, Utah

2014-15 CCS MEN’S ROSTER 2014-15 NIC MEN’S ROSTER

2014-15 CCS WOMEN’S ROSTER 2014-15 NIC WOMEN’S ROSTER




areas where we have been weak.This is the deepest team we havehad … at every position.”

The Pirates also return 6-1 guardKionte Brown (Shadle Park), who ishealthy after undergoing kneesurgery before last season.

“He’s an explosive athlete,” Logiesaid of Brown. “We plan to keephim on the wing. He’s embracedthe challenge of being the defensivestopper” against the opponent’s bestscorer.

The team also returns 6-7 seniorpost Adam Wilks, who averaged 5points a game and played a lot ofminutes as Farnsworth playedhimself back into shape.

“At times in the past when we

FAST FACTSColors: Crimson and black

Home: Whitworth Fieldhouse (1,620)Website: www.whitworthpirates.com

Head Coach: Matt LogieRecord: 75-14, fourth season

2013-14: 23-6, 14-2 NWCLetterwinners: 9 returning, 5 lost


WOMENHead Coach: Helen Higgs

Record: 305-207, 21st season2013-14 record: 21-8, 13-4 NWC

Letterwinners: 9 returning, 3 lostStarters: 2 back, 3 lost

Newcomers: 7

Not long before the WhitworthPirates men’s basketball teamstarted practicing last year, an ailingTaylor Farnsworth was forced tosleep in a chair.

The 6-foot-8 post player hadsurgery on his shoulder to repair atorn labrum in June 2013 and wasonly cleared to do a half-practice onthe first day camp opened last fall.

The Pirates’ leading rebounder,shot blocker and third-bestreturning scorer said he didn’t feellike he was in playing conditionuntil January as the Pirates madeyet another run to the second roundof the NCAA Division IIITournament.

“It was definitely nice to have afull summer and preseason,”Farnsworth said. “Coach alwayssays, ‘Leave your legacy. I want toleave something like that especiallyfor the younger guys. They put in aton of work. I want to play well sothey have the best season they can.”

To win its sixth straightNorthwest Conference crown andmake its ninth consecutive trip tothe national tournament, the Pirates,who were ranked No. 17 preseasonby D3hoops.com, must replaceall-conference guards, and itstop-two leading scorers, ColtonMcCargar and Dustin McConnell.

But coach Matt Logie, who has a75-14 coaching record in three yearsat Whitworth, has plenty offirepower returning. That startswith Farnsworth (Mead), whobeefed up from 225 to 237 poundsand appears to be in the best shapeof his career.

Farnsworth “is a guy I want to bethe face of our program,” Logie said.“He took the next step this pastseason. He’s now a physicallyimposing presence with two years ofa starter’s experience.”

The team’s leading returningscorer is forward Christian Jurlina,a 6-5 sophomore forward fromSydney, Australia, who averaged 10.9points even though he didn’t start.

The Pirates also have 6-1 guardKenny Love, who dropped 22pounds and enters the year at 190after averaging 7.1 points a game asa part-time starter last year.

Logie also gets back starting 6-4junior George Valle, who averaged9.6 points from the power forwardposition, although he can play anyposition on the floor.

“He’s one of the most versatileplayers I’ve played with,”Farnsworth said of Valle. “He’s areally good, all-around player.”

Logie also brought in animpressive group of six new players,including potential starting pointguard Matt Staudacher, a 6-1 junior,who transferred from Simon Fraser.

Staudacher “has a really nice feelfor the game,” Logie said. “He’s verycomfortable at the point guardposition. He’s played that his entirelife. And, he provides us some good

scoring.”Logie also got three other

sophomore transfers in 6-2 guardDerek Isaak (Coulee City) and 6-5forward Austin Damon (Lewis andClark), both from NorthwestNazarene; and 6-7 forward ForrestBaker (Mead) from Lewis-ClarkState. The two freshmen who joinedthe team were 5-9 guard JoshThayer from Stanwood and 6-7forward Alberto De Miguel fromMadrid, Spain.

In fact, in one recruiting cyle,Logie’s roster went from having sixplayers 6-5 or taller to having 10 ofthem.

“We will look more like abasketball team walking through theairport than we did last year,” Logiesaid. “That length helps us in some


Christian Jurlina, a 6-5 sophomore forward from Sydney, Australia, is the leading returning scorer for the Whits.

See WHITWORTH, T17

DEPTHMAKESWHITSTOUGH

Farnsworth healthy,ready to leave legacy

By Thomas [email protected], (509) 459-5495


WHITWORTH PIRATES

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (Previous School)

1 Kionte Brown G 6-1 188 So. Spokane (Shadle Park HS)

3 Matt Staudacher G 6-0 177 Jr. Kirkland, Wash. (Simon Fraser Univ.)

5 Kenny Love G 6-1 190 So. Santa Rosa, Calif. (Card. Newman)

12 Forrest Baker F 6-7 195 So. Spokane (Lewis-Clark St. College)

15 Christian Jurlina F 6-5 191 So. Sydney, Australia (Sydney Boys)

20 Austin Damon F 6-5 204 So. Spokane, Wash. (NW Nazarene)

22 Derek Isaak G 6-0 172 So. Coulee City, Wash. (NW Nazarene)

23 Josh Thayer G 5-9 159 Fr. Stanwood, Wash. (Stanwood HS)

24 Taylor Farnsworth P 6-8 237 Sr. Spokane (Univ. of Montana)

32 George Valle G 6-4 213 Jr. Bellevue (Sammamish HS)

34 Gabe Carter F 6-4 190 So. Sequim, Wash. (Sequim HS)

35 Riley Moreen F 6-7 182 So. Coeur d'Alene (Lake City HS)

40 Drew Sears P 6-10 210 So. Stanwood, Wash. (Stanwood HS)

41 Alberto de Miguel F 6-7 200 Fr. Madrid, Spain (MacDuffie, Mass.)

42 Brandon Loiler F 6-6 223 Jr. Lake Oswego, Ore. (Lakeridge HS)

44 Adam Wilks F/P 6-7 205 Sr. Andover, Kan. (Andover Central HS)

50 Ekow Nottinson-Nyaaku F 6-5 219 Fr. London, England (Gonzaga Prep)

2014-15 WHITWORTH MEN’S ROSTERNo. Name Pos. Yr. Ht. Hometown (Previous School)

2 Grace Douglas G Fr. 5-4 Lynnwood, Wash. (Lynnwood HS)

3 Erika Kuehn F/G Fr. 5-7 Billings, Mont. (Central Catholic HS)

4 Kendra Knutsen G Sr. 5-5 Spokane (Shadle Park HS)

5 Briann Maley G Jr. 5-9 Rosalia, Wash. (Rosalia HS)

10 JoJo Nicolas F Jr. 5-8 Honolulu, Hawaii (Moanalua HS)

11 KC McConnell G Jr. 5-7 Clarkston, Wash. (Clarkston HS)

12 Jessica Kramer F Sr. 5-9 Lewiston, Idaho (Eastern Oregon)

13 Mikayla Kraemer F/P So. 6-0 West Linn, Ore. (West Linn HS)

14 Callie Harwood F Fr. 5-9 Snohomish, Wash. (Snohomish HS)

15 McKenzie Harsin P So. 5-10 Mead (Mt. Spokane HS)

20 Alexis McLeod G Jr. 5-8 Kirkland, Wash. (Woodinville HS)

21 Chloe Quinnett P Fr. 5-10 Moscow, Idaho (Moscow HS)

22 Lexie Zappone G Jr. 5-7 Spokane (Lakeside HS)

24 Holly Malsbury F Fr. 5-7 Newport, Wash. (Newport HS)

25 Faith Emerson F Jr. 6-0 Santa Barbara, Calif. (Prov. Hall HS)

31 Jessica Thoens G Fr. 5-2 Oregon City, Ore. (Warner Pacific)

32 Kayla Leland G Fr. 5-3 Spokane (Gonzaga Prep HS)

33 Katara Belton-Sharp F Sr. 5-9 Spokane (Ferris HS)

2014-15 WOMEN’S WHITWORTH ROSTER

1Find a point guard. Coach MattLogie and senior forward TaylorFarnsworth rave about junior

transfer Matt Staudacher, who cameover to Whitworth from SimonFraser. He will get every opportunityto win the job to replace NorthwestConference player of the year DustinMcConnell.

2Find a shooting guard. KennyLove came into camp 22 poundslighter on his 6-1 frame. Love, a

sophomore, started a handful ofgames and his size made him amatchup nightmare for otherconference guards. Love looks todrive more than shoot, but should fillin capably for graduated sharpshooterColton McCargar. Kionte Brown, a 6-1sophomore guard from Shadle Park,should also get plenty of looks.

3Use that length. Logie now has10 players on the roster who are6-5 or taller. That statistic alone

should make his team the tallest inthe Northwest Conference. ForwardGeorge Valle always plays bigger thanhis 6-4 frame, but the roster is full ofyoung players, including 6-10sophomore post Drew Sears, whocould help rest the senior posts, 6-8Taylor Farnsworth and 6-7 AdamWilks.

4Find enough minutes. Theleading scorer is 6-5sophomore wing Christian

Jurlina, who served as the Pirates’sixth man last year. With six newplayers, including 6-7 freshman

Alberto De Miguel, from Madrid,Spain, Logie said his lineup could go11 or 12 players deep. That shouldcause headaches for any conferenceteam trying to match up.

5Find a stopper. The Whitworthteam made huge strides as theseason progressed last year. But

with several games on the line, thePirates often looked to McConnell tocarry them home. The team needs tofind that player, possibly Jurlina, toturn those last-second comebacksinto victories that McCargar andMcConnell created so well.

KEYSto success

http://www.whitworthpirates.com



POINTS

KC McConnell .............................. 14.7Lexie Zappone .............................. 7.9

REBOUNDS

KC McConnell ............................... 5.9

ASSISTS

Lexie Zappone .............................. 3.3

LEADING RETURNERS

Matt LogieRecord/years) ................... 75-14/3

Assistants: Damion Jablonski,Patrick Frost, Zach Payne

COACHING

PHOTOS: Colin Mulvany, The Spokesman-Review archive,

Associated Press, Whitworth University

Pictured:Taylor

Farnsworthand ChristianJurlina, inset

left, return forthe Whitworth

men; theWhitworth

women returnthe services ofall-everything

guard KCMcConnell,inset right.


2013-14 RECORD14-2 NWC, 23-6 overall

MEN WOMEN

2013-14 RECORD13-4 NWC, 21-8 overall

Helen HiggsRecord/years .............. 305-207/20

Assistants: David Pratt, CheneCooper, Morgan Jo Wolff, Alecia

Wilson

COACHING


Nov. 15 D’Youville 7 p.m.

Nov. 20 Rutgers-Newark

7 p.m.

Nov. 22 St. Thomas(Minn.)

8 p.m.

Nov. 26 at Redlands 7 p.m.

Nov. 29 at Caltech 7 p.m.

Dec. 6 Alumni 5 p.m.

Dec. 16 atSouthwestern(Tex.)

7 p.m.

Dec. 18 at Trinity(Tex.)

5 p.m.

Dec. 21 Marian (Wis.) 5 p.m.

Dec. 22 Wells 3 p.m.

Jan. 2 at Willamette Noon

Jan. 3 at Lewis &Clark

8 p.m.

Jan. 6 Whitman 6 p.m.

Jan. 9 Linfield 8 p.m.

Jan. 16 at Pacific(Ore.)

8 p.m.

Jan. 17 at George Fox 8 p.m.

Jan. 23 Puget Sound 6 p.m.

Jan. 24 PacificLutheran

8 p.m.

Jan. 30 Lewis & Clark 6 p.m.

Jan. 31 Willamette 8 p.m.

Feb. 3 at Whitman 6 p.m.

Feb. 7 at Linfield 8 p.m.

Feb. 13 George Fox 6 p.m.

Feb. 14 Pacific (Ore.) 8 p.m.

Feb. 20 at PacificLutheran

6 p.m.

Feb. 21 at PugetSound

8 p.m.


Nov. 15 Eastern Ore. 5 p.m.

Nov. 20 Rutgers-Newark

6 p.m.

Nov. 28 *vs. EasternOre.

4 p.m.

Nov. 29 *at Col. ofIdaho

4 p.m.

Dec. 5 at TexasLutheran

4 p.m.

Dec. 6 atSouthwestern(Tex.)

3:30 p.m.

Dec. 13 #vs. Corban 4 p.m.

Dec. 14 #vs. WallaWalla

Noon

Dec. 30 Northwest(Wash)

6 p.m.

Jan. 2 at Willamette 6 p.m.

Jan. 3 at Lewis &Clark

4 p.m.

Jan. 6 Whitman 6 p.m.

Jan. 9 Linfield 6 p.m.

Jan. 16 at Pacific(Ore.)

6 p.m.

Jan. 17 at George Fox 4 p.m.

Jan. 23 Puget Sound 6 p.m.

Jan. 24 PacificLutheran

4 p.m.

Jan. 30 Lewis & Clark 6 p.m.

Jan. 31 Willamette 4 p.m.

Feb. 3 at Whitman 6 p.m.

Feb. 7 at Linfield 6 p.m.

Feb. 13 George Fox 6 p.m.

Feb. 14 Pacific (Ore.) 4 p.m.

Feb. 20 at PacificLutheran

6 p.m.

Feb. 21 at PugetSound

4 p.m.

LEADING RETURNERS

SCORING

Christian Jurlina ............................ 10.9George Valle ................................... 9.6

REBOUNDS

Taylor Farnsworth ........................... 5.9

ASSISTS

Christian Jurlina ............................... 1.8

*-Lady ’Yote Classic at Caldwell, Idaho#-Kim Granger Classic at Walla Walla

AT A GLANCEWhitworth Fieldhouse:


Courtside Season Tickets Available Now!

$200 for men’s, $200 for women’s, or both for $300

To order season tickets, visit www.whitworthpirates.com.


http://www.whitworthpirates.com

IDAHO VANDALS

1Growing up quickly. Coach DonVerlin’s eligible roster includes ninefreshmen and sophomores, plus a

JC transfer. Not that this is all sodifferent – Verlin had 10 new faces lastyear, though half were seasonedtransfers. He knows he needs to getthem game-ready quickly, which is whyhe scheduled two exhibitions ratherthan just one, plus a doors-closedscrimmage. There are also two longtrips to accelerate the bonding process,and rivalry games with Boise State and

Washington State in a nine-day span toramp up the intensity. Soon enough,some of the kids are going to have toplay older than their years. One earlypossibility: 6-5 freshman VictorSanders, who the Vandals landed aweek before school started.

2Replacing Stephen Madison’sproduction. That’s 20 pointsand eight rebounds that left with

the 6-6 forward, Idaho’s leading scorerin 23 games last year. This should be nobulletin: it’ll be by committee. “I’ve toldour guys, some of the best teams havefour of five guys average in doublefigures,” Verlin said. “We’ll be different.This is going to have to be a teameffort.”

Along those lines …

3No Carmelos or LeBrons.Verlin needs leadership from histhree seniors – guards Connor

Hill and Mike Scott, and forward BiraSeck. But he doesn’t need anythingsuperhuman. “I’ve told them: ‘You’vegot to be yourself,’ “ Verlin said. “MikeScott is good enough. Connor is goodenough. We want leadership, yes, but inthe context of who they are.”

4Inside moves. The Big Sky is aguard’s league, and Idaho is deepand capable at that position. But

cracking the upper echelon requiressome inside presence, and the Vandalsare suspect there. Seck is a dirty-worktype, but nursed a bad foot throughcamp and JC transfer Nahshon Georgewas set back by the mumps. If Ty

Egbert doesn’t make strides in his thirdyear in the program, freshmen ArkadiyMktuchyan and Nate Sherwood willhave to deliver. “It’s the key to ourbasketball team,” Verlin agreed.

5Develop a defensive identity.The Vandals were next-to-last inthe Western Athletic Conference

a year ago in defense against the fieldgoal and steals, and last in blocked shots– and that league wasn’t murderers’row. Verlin’s teams generally know howto score, but there are lots of teams likethat in the Sky. Idaho has to startstringing together stops. Some of this isrelated to developing an insidepresence: the Vandals must establish arebounding mindset, low-block muscleand someone to protect the rim.

KEYSto success


No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (Previous school)

1 Callandret, Perrion G 6-2 180 So. Bothel, Wash. (Bothel HS)

2 Wiggs, Sekou PG 6-4 182 So. Seattle, Wash. (O'Dea HS)

3 Straughan, Jake G 6-1 175 Fr. Colton, Wash. (Colton HS)

5 Hill, Connor G 6-3 190 Sr. Post Falls, Idaho (Post Falls HS)

11 Sanders, Victor G 6-5 195 Fr. Portland, Ore. (Jefferson High School)

12 Scott, Mike PG 6-0 180 Sr. Los Angeles, Calif. (Antelope Valley CC)

13 Seck, Bira PF 6-6 215 Sr. Dakar, Senegal (Olney Central College)

14 Sherwood, Chad G 6-2 180 Fr. Albany, Ore. (West Albany HS)

15 Mpawe, Paulin F 6-10 227 Jr. San Bernardino, Calif. (San Bern. Valley)

21 Mkrtychyan, Arkadiy F 6-7 235 Fr. Portland (Columbia Christian HS)

23 Sherwood, Nate PF 6-8 Fr. Albany, Ore. (West Albany HS)

24 George, Nahshon F 6-9 200 Jr. Kapolei, Hawaı̀i (Shoreline CC)

33 White, Skyler F 6-7 238 So. Bellevue, Wash. (George Washington)

41 Egbert, Ty F 6-9 195 So. Coulee Dam, Wash. (Lake Roosevelt HS)

44 Scott, Jordan SF 6-6 200 Fr. Colorado Springs, Colo. (Lewis-Palmer)

50 Asencio, Roberto C 6-9 245 Jr. Haina, D.R. (Des Moines Area CC)

2014-15 VANDALS MEN’S ROSTER

1. Weber St. 2. EWU 3. NAU

4. Sacramento St. 5. Montana � 6. Idaho

7. No. Colorado8. Portland St.

9. Idaho St.10. North Dakota 11. Montana St.

12. Southern Utah

BIG SKYPREDICTED

FINISHORDER

Conference: Big SkyColors: Silver, Vandal gold

Ticket office: (208) 885-6466

Home court: CowanSpectrum (5,000)

Website: govandals.comHead coach: Don Verlin

Record: 97-96, 7th seasonAssistants: Tim Murphy,5th season; Kirk Earlywine,

3rd; Chris Helbling, 7th2013-14: 16-18 overall,

7-9 WACLetterwinners: 7 back,

4 lostStarters: 2 back, 3 lost

Newcomers: 7

FAST FACTS

In the fall, the Big Sky Conferencemakes for a touchy subject at theUniversity of Idaho.

But turn a few calendar pages and theVandals find the topic downrightembraceable.

And now that basketball is back in theBig Sky, it’s easy to get the impressionthat they never should have left.

“Excluding football,” Vandals coachDon Verlin is quick to qualify, “I thinkit’s the right place for us to be.”

Except it took the Western AthleticConference falling apart as a footballenterprise to get Idaho back in the Skyafter an 18-year absence. Football hasfound a home in the Sun BeltConference so it may continue tocompete at the FBS level, even as afaction of the fan base believes it, too,should come back to the oldneighborhood.

That back-and-forth continues onmessage boards and barstools, ifnowhere that it actually matters. But onhoop’s return, there is no debate. Indeed,irrespective of any new additions to theroster who might prove to have animpact, Idaho’s new/old digs figures tobe the most important programdevelopment of the 2014-15 season.

“It restores or renews rivalries thatIdaho has had for a long time, in aconference setting that’s always moremeaningful,” Verlin said. “And to go withthe regional part of it, the travel is going

to be so much better for our team.“If I could pick any conference to be

in – in our situation – I would tell youthe Big Sky.”

Which is not to say anyone isexpecting the Vandals to dominate upontheir return.

In a poll of the league’s coaches lastmonth, Idaho was picked to finishseventh; media that cover the Sky hadthe Vandals a spot lower. And that’s in ayear when Montana, one of theconference’s perennial toughies, will befighting for its postseason life.

Naturally, the Vandals aren’tconceding a thing. While Idaho’s rostertilts heavily toward freshmen andsophomores, the staff thinks its guardplay will keep it afloat in aguard-dominant league – providingthere’s some rebounding and defensivepresence.

And by way of a barometer, Verlin’sfirst six Idaho teams were 12-9 againstBig Sky opponents – with six of thoselosses to Montana.

Besides, Idaho’s basketball history inits first run through the Sky was fitful. Ittook the Vandals 18 years to finish atopthe standings and win the conferencetournament. Don Monson’s teams wentto back-to-back NCAA tournaments inthe early 1980s; Kermit Davis repeatedthe feat later in the decade.

But it could be argued that theprogram took a major turn south whenthe school opted to abandon the league.

Joe Cravens presided over Idaho’s lastBig Sky team in 1996 – when athletic

director Pete Liske, enamored with thepossibility of luring back Davis, fired hiscoach after just three seasons. Davisthen bailed after one year – Idaho’s firstin the Big West – and the school’s nextthree head coaches were all fired beforeVerlin was coaxed into the job. In themeantime, average attendance – alreadymodest at 2,763 in that last Sky season –plummeted 60 percent by 2013, before asmall uptick last year.

But the Sky has seen some slippageitself. Last year its RPI was 28th among32 Division I conferences. The yearbefore Idaho left the league, it was 15.

“But one thing I do see in the Big Skyis that there are a lot of good coaches inthe league – and a good mix,” Verlin said.“You’ve got some young guys, somefirst-time head coaches, and some olderguys who’ve done it for a while. Fromwhat we experienced last year in theWAC, that jumped out at me.”

But not nearly as much as the travel.As the WAC grappled with the fallout

from realignment and keep itself alive, itwas forced to expand well beyond theWest – and the time members spent onthe road. Last year, the Vandals had tofind their way to far-flung schools likeTexas-Pan American, Grand Canyon,Chicago State and Missouri-Kansas City.They covered nearly 11,000 air miles onfive trips, not counting any busing toregional airports.

That figure will fall to something like4,600 miles this year – the longest trip a1,400-mile swing to Sacramento andPortland. The Vandals will bus toEastern Washington, and from Bozemanto Missoula and home on the Montanatrip.

“The biggest thing is not taking threeflights every time we leave hereanymore,” Verlin said. “To Weber andIdaho State, it’s a flight to Salt Lake City.To NAU, it’s Spokane to Phoenix andsome bus time. Southern Utah is directto Las Vegas and a bus ride. It helps alittle that we don’t play North Dakotaand Northern Colorado.

“I listen to the coaches in the Big Skycomplain about travel. This is a walk inthe park.”

Associated Press

University of Idaho guard Connor Hill, a Post Falls graduate, figures to play a key role in the guard-oriented Big Sky Conference.

BIG SKY EMBRACEReturn to old league a positive move for road-weary Idaho basketball team

By John BlanchetteCorrespondent

Associated Press

Don Verlin applauds the Vandals’ moveto the Big Sky, especially the travel part.

POINTS

Connor Hill .................... 14.2Sekou Wiggs ................. 9.9

REBOUNDS

Bira Seck ......................... 5.1

ASSISTS

Mike Scott ...................... 2.2

LEADINGRETURNERS

Don VerlinRecord/years ................ 97-96/5

Assistants: Kirk Earlywine, ChrisHelbling, Tim Murphy

COACHING

PHOTOS: Associated Press, TheSpokesman-Review archive, University of Idaho

Pictured: Guards SekouWiggs and Connor Hill,inset below, return to

anchor a veteran Idahobackcourt.


2013-14 RECORD7-9 WAC, 16-18 overall


Nov. 7 Lewis-ClarkState*

7 p.m.

Nov. 14 EasternOregon

7 p.m.

Nov. 17 South DakotaState

7 p.m.

Nov. 20 at NorthernIllinois

5 p.m.

Nov. 25 at Boise State 6 p.m.

Nov. 29 NorthernKentucky

7 p.m.

Dec. 3 at Wash.State

7 p.m.

Dec. 6 UC Davis 2 p.m.

Dec. 11 at WesternIllinois

5 p.m.

Dec. 13 at SouthDakota State

5 p.m.

Dec. 18 Walla Walla 7 p.m.

Dec. 22 at NorthernKentucky

4 p.m.

Jan. 1 Idaho State 7 p.m.

Jan. 3 Weber State 7 p.m.

Jan. 10 EasternWashington

7 p.m.

Jan. 15 at SacramentoState

7 p.m.

Jan. 17 at PortlandState

7 p.m.

Jan. 22 North Dakota 7 p.m.

Jan. 24 NorthernColorado

7 p.m.

Jan. 31 at EasternWashington

2:05 p.m.

Feb. 5 at MontanaState

6 p.m.

Feb. 7 at Montana 6 p.m.

Feb. 12 Portland State 7 p.m.

Feb. 14 SacramentoState

7 p.m.

Feb. 19 at NorthernArizona

6 p.m.

Feb. 21 at SouthernUtah

6 p.m.

Feb. 26 Montana 7 p.m.

Feb. 28 Montana State 1 p.m.

March 5 at WeberState

6 p.m.

March 7 Idaho State 6 p.m.

March12

Big Skyquarterfinals

TBA

March13

Big Skysemifinals

TBA

March14

Big Skychampionship

TBA

AT A GLANCECowan Spectrum:


*-ExhibitionBig Sky Tournament at site of

regular-season champion


needed someone to make a play, we hadjust a few options,” Logie said. “We maynot have an all-American, but we havemultiple all-conference players. Whosteps up on a given night may bedetermined by what the defense tries totake away first.”

Farnsworth, a 22-year-old accountingmajor, was named team captain alongwith Valle on a team that could play 11or 12 players in every game.

But as Farnsworth plays out his finalseason, he now has another young fanwatching his every move: 18-month-oldColton. Farnsworth got married on Aug.16 to Ashley, a girl he met inkindergarten.

“I get a ton from him. He’s been atevery game,” Farnsworth said of his

son. “He always wants a ball in hishands. It will be special when I get totalk to him and show him pictures ofhim coming to my games.”

WomenFor the second year in a row,

Whitworth women’s basketball coachHelen Higgs finds herself trying toreplace the team’s leading scorer as shetries to qualify for the NCAA DivisionIII tournament for the third straightseason.

Higgs said she will rely on returningstarters, a pair of 5-7 guards, KCMcConnell and Lexie Zappone(Lakeside) to make up for the loss ofJamie Lyons, Kendra Lahue andall-conference player Kayla Johnson,who led the Pirates with 18.5 points and7.3 rebounds.

Zappone and McConnell “are special

players, too,” she said. “I can’t ask themto do what Kayla did, but I can askthem to do what they did last year alittle bit more and a little bit better.”

Higgs, who has a career mark of305-207 in 20 years, led the Pirates to a21-8 overall record last season and 13-4in the Northwest Conference. ThePirates were ranked No. 20 in theD3hoops.com preseason poll.

Whitworth defeated Whitman in theconference tournament title gamebefore later falling to the sameMissionaries team in the second roundof the national tournament. Whitmanlater advanced to the nationalchampionship game before losing toundefeated Fairleigh Dickinson.

“I’m really happy with our effort,”Higgs said of the current team. “I thinkwe are pretty good, athletically. I thinkwe can do a lot of the same things.”

Higgs said she expects expandedroles for 5-5 senior guard KendraKnutsen (Shadle Park), 5-9 seniorforward Katara Belton-Sharp (Ferris),5-9 senior forward Jessica Kramer, 5-8junior guard Alexis McLeod and 5-8junior forward JoJo Nicolas.

“Anytime they change their roles,there is always growing pains,” Higgssaid. “Right now, we are trying to say,‘Hey. These are the things we value.This is our identity. And, this is what ittakes to win.’”

As always, the Pirates face aconference that boasts some of the bestDivision III basketball in the country.The same poll has Whitman ranked No.2 and George Fox ranked No. 24.

“There are no easy games,” Higgssaid. “You can’t just show up in ourleague and think you are going to winit.”

Continued from T14WHITWORTH


WASHINGTON HUSKIES

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (Previous School)

1 Johnson, Darin G 6-5 200 So. Sacramento, Calif. (Sheldon HS)

2 Winters, Quevyn G 6-5 200 Jr. Milwaukee, Wis. (Indian Hills CC)

5 Williams-Goss, Nigel G 6-3 190 So. Happy Valley, Ore. (Findlay Prep, Nevada)

10 Kingma, Dan G 5-10 155 Fr. Mill Creek, Wash. (Jackson HS)

11 Anderson, Mike G 6-4 205 Sr. Hartford, Conn. (Moberly Area, Mo. CC )

12 Andrews, Andrew G 6-2 195 Jr. Portland (Benson Tech HS)

15 Garrett, KJ G 6-3 190 Fr. Manhattan Beach, Calif. (Rolling Hills Prep)

21 Jarreau, Jernard F 6-10 240 Jr. New Orleans, La. (McDonogh 35 Senior)

24 Upshaw, Robert C 7-0 250 So. Fresno, Calif. (Fresno State)

30 Bowman, Greg F 6-5 200 Fr. Mountlake Terrace, Wash. (MTHS)

33 Taylor, Jahmel G 6-0 170 So. Los Angeles (Pacific Hills HS)

34 Dierickx, Gilles C 7-0 230 Jr. Ghent, Belgium (Florida International )

40 Kemp, Jr., Shawn F 6-9 255 Sr. Canton, Ga. (Hargraves Academy, Va.)

42 Dorsey, Donaven F 6-7 215 Fr. Lacey, Wash. (Timberline HS)

1. Arizona2. Utah

3. Colorado4. UCLA

5. Stanford6. California

� 7. Washington8. WSU

9. Arizona St.10. USC

11. Oregon St.12. Oregon

PAC-12PREDICTED

FINISHORDER

Conference: Pac-12Colors: Purple and gold

Ticket office: (206)543-2200

Home court: AlaskaAirlines Arena (10,000)

Website: gohuskies.comHead coach:

Lorenzo RomarRecord: 347-232,

13th seasonAssistants: Brad Jackson,

3rd season; RaphaelChillious, 5th; T. J.Otzelberger, 2nd

2013-14: 17-15 overall, 9-9 Pac-12

Letterwinners: 8 back, 6 lost


FAST FACTS2014-15 HUSKIES MEN’S ROSTER

1Finding C.J.’ssurrogate. GuardsNigel Williams-Goss

and Andrew Andrews areobviously more-than-capable scorers, but C.J.Wilcox was the kind ofweapon who forced teamsto game plan for him.What’s more, he took 42percent of the Huskies’3-pointers last season andwas far and away theirmost accuratelong-distance shooter. Hispresence allowedWilliams-Goss to blossom,and now he’ll be the onegetting all the defensiveattention.

2There is no “I” in“D.” But there needsto be an “E” – as in

everyone. Statistically, theHuskies were the Pac-12’sworst team in field goaldefense (47.5 percent?Ugh!) and easily the worstby the eye test. This waslargely an interior failing– the graduated PerrisBlackwell was hardly thehuman eraser. The arrivalof 7-footer RobertUpshaw figures to be asignificant upgrade in thisdepartment, but ShawnKemp Jr. needs to asserthimself as a rebounder,too. And mostly, theHuskies have to look likethey care about stops.

3Living large. Whereare you JonBrockman and

Spencer Hawes? Findingthe right rotation up frontis important for coachLorenzo Romar, butanything impactful upthere would be. Romarloves the guard-wingorientation, but theHuskies need to be able todo some work inside, too.Again, a big season fromShawn Kemp Jr. wouldhelp, but even if it’s bycommittee, the Huskiesneed to find some scoringand some defensivemuscle, too. Havingfreshman Tristan Etienneleave the team in Octoberwas not a helpfuldevelopment.

4Acceleratedadjustment. Twotransfers figure to

play substantial roles:Upshaw, the 7-footer fromFresno State, and wingQuevyn Winters, aone-time Duquesne signeewho arrives from juniorcollege. Transfers, despitetheir collegiateexperience, often requiretime to get their bearingsin a lineup or rotation, butespecially in Upshaw’scase the Huskies don’thave time to waste. Thenagain, better late thanearly. Mike Andersonseemed to make a quickadjustment to D-I ball lastseason, but was anon-factor the last monthof the season.

5LoRo go-go. SeeingUW coach LorenzoRomar’s name on

the obligatory “hot seat”lists going into the seasonseems ridiculous, but suchis the college basketballculture these days. Thewheels have hardly fallenoff the program, but notbeing in the NCAAtournament three yearsrunning makes you not“relevant” anymore.There’s no question theHuskies have lost theirold edge. Whether thatmeans Romar has lost hisis arguable, but at the veryleast the Dawgs need tocheck their IDs.

KEYSto success

Some of the baggage and burden ofShawn Kemp Jr.’s basketball life has beenassigned, and some has been courted.

He didn’t pick his name, for instance –that came from his father, the former NBAsuperstar. But he did choose his dad’sgame, and when it came time to pick acollege, he elected to attend the Universityof Washington in the same town where thesenior Kemp polished his star with theSeattle SuperSonics.

And for good measure, he opted to weara Huskies uniform with the number 40,the same as pops did.

So there many who watch him play doso with the anticipation and expectationthat he will reveal himself to be a secondcoming – running, posting, generallyhaving his way with opponents. The ReignKid.

They’re still waiting – in part because ofother burdens and baggage.

There was the year he spent inbasketball limbo after high school, takingonline classes to bump his grades in orderto get into UW. A fitful freshman seasonfollowed as he grappled with the demandsand challenges of Division I basketball, andthen a knee injury cost him seven gamesearly in his sophomore year. Still feelinghis way in early January, Kemp finallybroke out when he was inserted into thestarting lineup over the last 14 games,averaging 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds.

More anticipation bubbled up for hisjunior season, until his energy level took anosedive during the summer of 2013 and

his weight plummeted 20 pounds in thespace of two weeks.

Then came the diagnosis: the 6-foot-9forward had Graves’ disease.

“Everybody thought I was out of shape,”Kemp said, “but it was like my body wasshutting down.”

An autoimmune condition, Graves’disease releases antibodies that stimulatethe production of thyroid hormones. Anacceleration of the body’s metabolism isone of a number of wide-rangingsymptoms. Olympic sprinter and hurdlerGail Devers suffered from the condition, asdid former Seattle Seahawks wide receiverBobby Engram.

When Kemp played 30 minutes andscored 10 points in a season-opening winover Seattle University, the diagnosisdidn’t seem like much of a setback. But hiscondition wavered and his minutesplunged into the single digits over theholidays.

“It’s always hard to deal with somethingyou can’t really control,” Kemp said, “andthat was the biggest part for me. I wantedto be out on the court doing what I can do,but because of my condition I couldn’t goall the time. Trying to get the medicationright was a battle – I’m still going throughthat with the doctors every once in a while.

“The big thing for me was, when Ifinally did feel better I was trying to doeverything at once. You want to score allthe points, get all the rebounds you didn’tscore when you couldn’t play. I had toaccept it would take time to get back towhere I wanted to be, and it wasfrustrating.”

In time, Kemp did make it back to the

starting lineup. But his season numbers –4.4 points, a mere 1.8 rebounds a game –spoke to his ineffectiveness.

Which only means more in the way ofexpectation this season, amplified by need.

Kemp’s struggles at UW have dovetailedwith the program’s generalunderachievement. The Huskies haven’treached the NCAA tournament since 2011.They did make it to the NIT semis in 2012,then were bounced in the first round ofthat event the following year. After a 9-9finish in the Pac-12 and a first-round loss inthe league tournament last year, theHuskies simply sat out the postseason.

“That first year, we felt like we mighthave got a little cheated (by missing anNCAA bid),” he said, “but these pastcouple years have been rough. And this ismy last chance. I would love to be in thebig dance my senior year.”

And for 2015, he is the most veteranpresence up front. Jernard Jarreau didplay significant minutes as a freshman, butmissed all of last year with a torn ACL.Sophomore 7-footer Robert Upshaw is abudding talent, but he too sat out 2014after transferring from Fresno State.

Kemp said the sense of urgencythroughout the team is palpable.

“We all decided to stay here for thewhole summer and that hasn’t happenedin recent years,” he said. “I think thatcreated a strong connection for all of us. Asfor me, I worked on everything – from postmoves to jump shots, getting in perfectcondition.

“I feel I’m going to be the mostdominant person on the court. This is it forme, and there’s a lot I want to get done.”

Associated Press

Shawn Kemp Jr., struggled last season after being diagnosed with Graves’ disease, but has plans to dominate in his senior season.

BACK IN GEARWith Graves’ disease under control, Kemp aims high in senior season

By John BlanchetteCorrespondent

POINTS

Nigel Williams-Goss ....... 13.4Andrew Andrews ............ 12.3

REBOUNDS

Mike Anderson .................. 5.5

ASSISTS

Nigel Williams-Goss ....... 4.4

LEADINGRETURNERS

Lorenzo RomarRecord/years ............ 347-232/18

Assistants: Raphael Chillious, T.J. Otzelberger, Brad Jackson

COACHING

*-In Anaheim#-MGM Showcase in Las VegasPac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas

PHOTOS: Colin Mulvany, Associated Press,University of Washington

Pictured: Washingtonwill lean heavily on itsexplosive backcourt ofAndrew Andrews andNigel Williams-Goss,

inset above.




Nov. 6 Saint Martin’s 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 14 SouthCarolina State

7 p.m.

Nov. 21 at Seattle U(KeyArena)

7 p.m.

Nov. 23 Pacific 5 p.m.

Nov. 27 *San JoseState

8 p.m.

Nov. 28 *WoodenLegacy

TBA

Nov. 30 *WoodenLegacy

TBA

Dec. 7 San DiegoState

6 p.m.

Dec. 14 EasternWashington

5 p.m.

Dec. 17 Grambling 8 p.m.

Dec. 20 #Oklahoma 6 p.m.

Dec. 22 Tulane 8 p.m.

Dec. 28 Stony Brook 5 p.m.

Jan. 2 at California 7 p.m.

Jan. 4 at Stanford 7 p.m.

Jan. 10 WashingtonState

12 p.m.

Jan. 15 Oregon State 6 p.m.

Jan. 18 Oregon 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 22 at Colorado 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 25 at Utah 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 28 Stanford 8 p.m.

Feb. 1 California noon

Feb. 4 at Oregon 6 p.m.

Feb. 8 at OregonState

1:30 p.m.

Feb. 13 Arizona 6 p.m.

Feb. 15 Arizona State 2:30 p.m.

Feb. 22 atWashingtonState

5:30 p.m.

Feb. 25 at UCLA 8 p.m.

Feb. 28 at USC 7:30 p.m.

March 5 Colorado 6 p.m.

March 7 Utah 1:30 p.m.

March11

Pac-12 firstround

All Day

March12

Pac-12quarterfinals

All Day

March13

Pac-12semifinals

All Day

March14

Pac-12championship

8 p.m.

AT A GLANCEAlaska Airlines Arena:



can really drive and guys whocan shoot it.”

The other returningsophomore, besides Richey, is5-11 guard Chase McDuffie ofNorth Central High, last year’sback-up point guard. This year’sprojected starting point guard,Paris Estrada, tore his anteriorcruciate ligament on the firstplay of the first scrimmage thisyear.

“That’s not going to stop us,though,” Groth said. “Obviously,we’re going to miss (Estrada) alot, but it gives an opportunityfor other guys to step up. We’regoing to find other ways to get itdone.”

CCS womenKnee problems also hit the

Sasquatch women, who have lostsisters Bianca and Jennifer Gonzalesand 5-4 guard Briana King of NC.

Bianca, a 5-3 guard, started lastyear until injuring her knee beforeconference play. She and King willredshirt. Jennifer, a 5-7 wing, isquestionable after hurting her kneeduring the first day of technique class.

CCS returns part-time startersKarlee Martin, a 5-5 guard fromAlmira/Coulee-Hartline, and 5-6 guardEmily Schramm. The Sasquatchpicked up Wenatchee Valley transferAmanda Bearmedicine, a 5-9 forward.

The Sasquatch must replace NWACPlayer of the Year Riley Holsinger, whoaveraged 22 points per game andmoved on to Vanguard University in

Costa Mesa, California.“We’re a little thin at the post, but

we’re pretty strong at wing,”26th-year coach Bruce Johnson said.“We probably have a little bit betterflow and balance.”

NIC menFirst-year head coach Corey

Symons, a 10-year assistant with theCardinals, replaces Jared Phay, whoaccepted the top position at ScenicWest Athletic Conference rival Collegeof Southern Idaho.

“Coach Phay did a great job,”Symons said. “We’ve had some reallygreat teams.”

The Cardinals’ returning starters areformer Rainier Beach High teammatesJordan King, a 6-4 guard, and 6-10center Fuquan Niles. Anotherex-Rainier Beach player, 5-8 point

guard Will Dorsey, started last yearbut will redshirt after suffering ashoulder injury.

Symons started a four-guard lineupfor the team’s opener last Fridayagainst Western Wyoming, as 6-3Lucas Antunez, 6-7 Djuan Piper and6-6 Braian Angola-Rodas joined Kingand Niles. Kyle Guice, a 6-7 freshmanguard/forward from Lake City High,figures to get plenty of playing timewhen Symons needs strength inside.

“I think we’re a lot deeper this year,”Symons said. “We can literally play 12deep.”

NIC was ranked 21st in the NJCAApreseason poll.

NIC womenEleventh-year coach Chris Carlson

led the Cardinals to their 10thconsecutive 20-win season last year.

More good things are expected as NICis ranked 18th in the NJCAA preseasonpoll.

The Cardinals boast eight returners,including starters Kara Staggs, a 5-7guard, and 6-1post Panisesi Taimani.Bailey Schroeder, a 5-9 guard, alsosaw some starting time.

The Cardinals picked up a bigtransfer from Utah State in 6-0guard/forward Shelby Cloninger, wholed Kamiah (Idaho) to the state title in2013.

Other possible starters arefreshman guards Maci Benedict andMonica Landdeck.

“I think the biggest thing isexperience,” Carlson said. “We returneight – that’s a lot of returners for a JC– and got a nice transfer out of UtahState. All of the freshman recruits arecapable of playing many minutes.”

Continued from T13RICHEY


ONLY THE PLAYERSBATTLE FOR POSITION.Don’t miss a single play. Watch basketball on our larger-than-life 30’x10’ HDTV. Our cozy atmosphere and menu are epic, too.

Documents

Basketball preview, november 6, 2014