Yesterday was Christmas morning for college basketball programs across the nation. It was the day that college coaches crossed their fingers and hoped the players on their wish list signed on the dotted line. Yes, yesterday was the first day of the spring signing period. Here’s all the hot news from the WACky conference the Aztecs call home.
A 6-foot-6 mystery
The Aztecs have four scholarships available, but they didn’t officially sign anyone yesterday.
Coaches can’t reveal who they are recruiting, but The Daily Aztec has learned there is one highly touted player that, if signed, would be the highlight of Trenkle’s recruiting class. Details are sketchy, but The Aztec has confirmed that Trenkle & Co. are in the running for a 6-foot-6 forward who formerly played behind Ray Allen at the University of Connecticut.
Last season, the player was at a junior college in Kansas. It is believed the player could be Ruslan Inyatkin, but that has not been confirmed. The player took a recruiting trip to Montezuma Mesa about two weeks ago, and he is now deciding among SDSU, Cincinnati, UAB and St. Louis.
Team-less Tommy
Tommy Davis is looking for a team. The former Long Beach State point guard was “dismissed” from the CSULB team for unspecified reasons at the end of the season. Now, the 5-foot-9, 170-pound junior is looking for a team, and if you listen to rumors from Central California, he might be considering San Diego State.
As a sophomore last season, Davis averaged seven points and five rebounds per game.
Trenkle said he hasn’t spoken to Davis and hasn’t heard much about him lately. “I remember him from high school,” Trenkle said of Davis. “He was a heck of a high school player. Yeah, he was real good. But as far as now, I don’t know anything.”
Withering Wyoming
If Wright goes … so goes Wyoming
Wyoming head coach Joby Wright got the pink slip at the end of the season, and now it appears the whole program is in disarray. Senior point guard LaDrell Whitehead (23 points per game) will transfer to Ball State. He’ll have to sit out a season, but apparently that’s better than staying at Wyoming. Also, Jeron Roberts (17 ppg) and Torin Ragin are considering playing elsewhere next season.
Ragin’ Roger
Last semester The Aztec reported that the son of former BYU head coach Roger Reid was considering transferring from BYU to Illinois after he returned from his Mormon mission this year. Yesterday, the Fresno Bee reported that Roger Reid is now trying to convince his son, Robbie Reid, to transfer to Utah so he can stick it to his former Cougars team. A little vendetta? Apparently, Illinois is now No. 2 on Robbie’s list.
Shark’s in hot water again
On Thursday, March 27, the Los Angeles Times ran a front-page investigative article that revealed possible point shaving by two Fresno State men’s basketball players.
Melvin Eli and Kenny Brunner, both highly regarded prep standouts, had orally committed to FSU, but after reading the Times article, word got out they were getting cold feet.
On the last day of the NCAA tournament, head coach Jerry Tarkanian got word of the news he might lose his star recruits and immediately jumped on a flight to Los Angeles to pay a personal visit to Brunner. Assistant coach Danny Tarkanian jumped on a flight to Chicago to pay a visit to Eli. Apparently it paid off, as both players have come out publicly to support Tark and reaffirm their desire to play at FSU.
Good thing for Bulldogs fans. Last Sunday at the Magic Johnson All-Star Classic, Eli was named co-MVP while scoring 24 points. Brunner had nine assists.
Speaking of Fresno State …
The player at the center of the Times story was FSU guard Chris Herren. Herren, a transfer from Boston College, was one of the Bulldogs’ most consistent players last season, averaging 17. 4 ppg for the season and 30 ppg the last four games.
He was at his hometown of Fall River, Mass., when the story broke. But when he found out about the allegations against him, he denied any wrongdoing via a telephone interview with a Fresno TV station.
Herren’s father is so upset by the allegations against his son, he has advised Chris to either transfer to a Division II school or go to the NBA. Herren hasn’t decided if he will heed his father’s advice. If the allegations are true, Herren will be headed for jail. Point shaving is a federal crime.
Bayno way is the only way
UNLV has scored one of the top recruiting classes in the nation this season under head coach Bill Bayno.
The Rebels have received a verbal commitment from stud New York City point guard Lamar Odum, who turned down Kentucky to go to Vegas. UNLV also received an oral commitment from Edwin Daniels, a highly touted high school player from New Orleans.
Couple that with the fact they will have red-shirt center Issiah Epps. Also, first team All-WAC center Keon Clark (15 ppg) announced he will return for his senior season. Next year, watch out! The Rebels will be runnin’.
