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Wednesday, March 19, 2014.
A Scott Slant reader forwarded me an article posted last week at SportsOnEarth.com. I wasn’t familiar with that website, but the content was good. Michael Weinreb had some solid observations on the state of Boise State football. On what has been experienced here: “I think it's fair to say now that the Broncos' eight-year run of success under Chris Petersen–they won 92 of 104 games during that span–was one of the great underdog stories in the history of college sports. I loved watching them; it felt like those teams had a lot to do with the way college football emerged from its shell, the way smaller programs began to embrace the kind of creative thinking that eventually trickled upward into the Big 12 and SEC.”
On the crossroads at which Bronco football finds itself, Weinreb writes: “The challenge for Boise is that, as good as it has been been, it always feels (often unfairly) as if it's clinging to national relevance, shunned by the automatic-qualifying conferences, laughed off as a goofy blue-turfed novelty by the majority of the nation. The challenge for Boise is that it is always on the verge of disappearing, and its ability to remain relevant depends largely on its ability to continually capture our imagination. If this is true, then the Boise administration did the best thing it could possibly do: It went after the one guy (other than Petersen) who had been behind much of that imaginative play-calling in the first place.”
Weinreb has this on what lies ahead for new Boise State coach Bryan Harsin: “The only way forward for the Broncos now is to continually prove that they do belong in the first tier. The only way forward is to bring more funk, and more edginess, and more fun, and to prove that, while the remainder of the college football world may have embraced Boise State's ideas, they still haven't caught up to them.” Weinreb fairly outlines the program’s challenges—and possible sustainability.
Arizona State wide receiver Richard Smith has confirmed to KTIK’s inimitable John Patrick that he has been granted his release by the Sun Devils and is going to join the Boise State program. Smith, who visited Boise at the end of last week, was originally a Dennis Erickson recruit at ASU out of the legendary Long Beach Poly program. And he wasn’t an afterthought when Todd Graham arrived in Tempe. Smith, a 5-9, 176-pounder, made 32 catches for 276 yards and two touchdowns for the Pac-12 South champions as a freshman last season. He also rushed seven times for 78 yards. Smith will have to sit out this year and will have two years of eligibility remaining beginning next year.
Five years ago Ken Bone was coaching in the NCAA Tournament in Taco Bell Arena as Portland State made its second straight appearance in the Dance. After the Vikings’ loss to Xavier, Bone parlayed his success into a job at Washington State when Tony Bennett left for Virginia. But Bone went just 80-86 overall and 29-61 in Pac-10/Pac-12 play with the Cougars, and he was fired by WSU yesterday. The name of Boise State coach Leon Rice, a Washington State alum, has surfaced in connection with that job, but he is seen as a longshot. The most prominent guy in the hopper is former Oregon coach Ernie Kent. Other casualties of yesterday’s Wazzu move include former Boise State and College of Idaho coach Rod Jensen and former Idaho Stampede and University of Idaho assistant (and College of Idaho player) Ray Lopes, both of whom were Bone assistants.
While Boise State and UNLV take the rest of the season off, Fresno State visits UTEP and Wyoming plays at Texas A&M in the CBI tonight. Don’t cry for the Rebels, who are missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years. Yes, coach Dave Rice may lose star forward Khem Birch to the NBA Draft, has already lost Bryce Dejean-Jones to off-court issues, and could lose top assistant Heath Schroyer to the head coaching job at Tennessee-Martin. But UNLV already has verbals from three of the nations’s top 40 recruits, including Rashad Vaughn, the country’s No. 7 prospect from nearby Findlay Prep. The Rebels are also adding transfer point guard Cody Doolin from the University of San Francsico.
No better time to check in on former Skyview High star Kyle Dranginis’ sophomore season at Gonzaga. The Zags, a No. 8 seed, make their 16th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament when they open against Oklahoma State Friday afternoon. Dranginis is averaging 24 minutes a game and has started eight. He contributes six points per game and is shooting a respectable 49 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range. Interestingly enough, Dranginis is third on the team in blocked shots with 17 and is pulling down four rebounds a game. That’s pretty good for a guard. Although he is a 6-5 guard.
Roster additions in March are supposed to set the table for April and the Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Idaho Steelheads hope Jason Bast fits that description. The rookie forward from Regina, Saskatchewan, joined the Steelheads last Wednesday and made his debut—then he scored his first professional goal last Friday at Bakersfield. One night later Bast tallied again and added two assists, all in the third period, when the Steelies erupted for four goals to conquer the Condors. Bast just completed a college career in Canada at St. Francis Xavier, where he had 110 points in 111 games. Idaho returns home tonight to face the Colorado Eagles in CenturyLink Arena.
Allen Crabbe spent one more game with the Idaho Stampede than C.J. McCollum did as a Portland assignee in January. Crabbe was recalled yesterday by the Trail Blazers after three appearances with the Stampede that saw him average 38 minutes and 16.6 points per game. The rookie out of Cal has played only 12 games for Portland this season, averaging less than five minutes and scoring a total of 24 points. By the way, the D-League’s new NBA prospects list is out, and the Stampede’s Kevin Murphy has moved up to No.1. Vander Blue is up to No. 4, while Dee Bost drops to No. 15. The Stamps play at Sioux Falls Friday and Saturday.
Just the nomination is prestigious. College of Idaho coach Scott Garson has been named one of three finalists for the 2014 Red Auerbach College Coach of the Year Award that goes to the nation’s top Jewish college coach. The other two finalists are SMU’s Larry Brown and Josh Schertz of Lincoln Memorial University. Garson led the Coyotes to a 28-6 record in his first season in Caldwell. The Red Auerbach Award will be presented during the Final Four in Dallas next month. One other Treasure Valley coaching note: Lee Neumann has stepped down as head football coach at Centennial High after a momentous 24 years. This retirement feels temporary, though.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by HANDYMAN CONNECTION…trusted home improvements.
March 19, 1992: At the BSU Pavilion, in what would be the second-to-last game of his college career, LSU center Shaquille O’Neal sets an NCAA West Region record with 11 blocked shots in a first round tournament win over BYU. Shaq would finish his college career in Boise two days later when Indiana stopped the Tigers, 89-79. The Hoosiers and Bobby Knight would advance all the way to the Final Four that year.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment Sunday nights at 10:30PM on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors five sports segments each weekday on 93.1 The Ticket. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
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