PointGuard

Pre-Conference Schedule Scheduling continues to be difficult. Bret left it all up to me this year. This season we have 6 away games (against Boise St., Columbia, Western Kentucky, Furman, Georgetown and Nicholls St.) and 5 home games (against Old Dominion, Holy Cross, Brigham Young, Milwaukee, and Houston) before starting Big Sky play. Bret took it astride although he did comment that this makes the 3rd straight year where we play more away games than at home. I was really hoping to shift that unbalance this year, but most programs either won't schedule us or will only do so if we play in their gyms.

Odds and ends After the St. Patrick's day parade, Jim Rome is so impressed with his nation's capital that he begins plans for building a new vacation home there. Christine Rozniak announces her desire to assume the recently vacated US rep position of the late Charlie "Feelgood" Osgood.

...and in the news Over the summer Tony Carpelli plead guilty to attempted kidnapping. rackateering. and was able to plea bargain his murder charge down to accessory to murder. He receives 10 years imprisonment as a sentence. Former Cheney police chief Matt Hauser pleads guilty to the federal charges of of obstuction of justice and destruction of evidence. All other charges are dropped and Hauser receives 18 months in federal prison. Fred Partington goes to trial and is found guilty on federal charges of mail fraud and domestic terrorism. He receives a sentence of 12 years. [Copied from post by CoachC in Wolverine Studios forum]

Austin Nathaniel, 2nd Asst Coach Positional Battles As I work with the squad in practice this fall, I’m getting more and more excited. I think the skill level is better this year than last. And there should be some good competition for starting roles and playing time. POINT GUARD: Certainly Tim Dove has the edge since he’s got two years of experience with us. I think he’s going to be a better playmaker this year and his ball handling and passing skills are improving which should result in not only more assists, but more importantly, less turnovers. His defensive skills are improving also. Incoming JC transfer Darryl Bailey has a lot of potential, but needs some to develop his skills to be able to challenge Dove for a starting role. Bailey is a more aggressive shooter so could give us a quick infusion of offense coming off the bench. Harvey Manning is a senior walk-on. He’s got good ball handling and passing skills so could come in and stabilize play for us. SHOOTING GUARD: Shawn Jackson’s experience gives him the initial edge. He seems to becoming a more aggressive shooter, more willing to put up a shot than instead of passing up shot opportunities as he did the last two years. Will Davis, who redshirted last year, is likely to challenge Jackson for a starting role. He’s matured and his skill levels have improved significantly. He may be a stronger rebounder than Jackson. Freshman Danya Lawson has good potential, but needs to hone his skills and gain some experience. He’s probably the most aggressive shooter of our SG’s though and could provide some instant offense coming off the bench. SMALL FORWARD: Joe Blackwell will like start again for us. He has the most developed set of skills and his rebounding has improved from last year. Walk-on Travis Dawson has much the same skills as Blackwell. He showed last year that he has a sweet shot and he is likely to get more playing time this year. Derrick Reyes transferred this year so can’t suit up. But I’m looking forward to working with him next season since his skills are already well developed and he has even greater potential. POWER FORWARD: Terence Hillier continues to improve and is likely to be the starter this year. His rebounding continues to get better every year and he plays some rugged defense. His scoring remains a big question mark though. Brian Dearman has a better outside shot and similar skills to Hillier so could challenge for a starting role or be a solid reserve. Freshman Byron Crawford bring a lot of potential and a lot of attitude. Hopefully he can fit in well with the team because he should be a key player for us in the future as he gains experience. CENTER: Cory Davis seems even stronger than he was last year and probably will benefit from shifting from PF to his more natural center position. A strong rebounder and good defender with better than average ball handling and passing skills. The backup role will be split between Odie Joseph and JC transfer Colin Goode. Joseph handles the boards well and provides some solid defense. He needs to be more aggressive offensively though. Goode’s height (7-0) will be a welcome asset and he has a nose for the basket so could come in and give us some quick offense. Otherwise he is a step behind Davis and Joseph in development of his skills though. If Dove, Jackson, Blackwell and Davis can hold off their challengers for starting roles that means we will have 4 starters back this year.

Jamal Smith, 1st Asst Coach This year we will have 4 scholarships to fill. In preparation for recruiting, we purchase the Basic editions of the National Report and the Western Report. This year we will travel to the Indy Elite Camp and the Las Vegas Revue. Then at the beginning of June Ervin Smith advises he will be transferring. We’re very disappointed because as a freshman, he began developing his skills very well toward the end of the year and Coach V was gradually increasing his playing time in anticipation that he would contest for to be a starter on this year’s squad at SF. But we all realized that he never meshed well with his teammates. His personality was such that he just never really got along with them. His departure will make the SF position weaker. Coach V said he will look over this year’s transfers, but unless there is someone that we just can’t pass up, he’s more likely to just get a walk-on this year and have a 5th scholarship to offer to recruits. We contact several transfer players and then make an offer to a sophomore SF who played for Hofstra last year. He accepts our offer: SF Derrick Reyes, 6-6 So, Ravena, New York, 2.6 GPA. 9.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.9 spg, 0.0 bpg. Of course, he will have to sit out this season, but will have 3 years of eligibility left when he begins playing for us the 2016-2017 season. Ervin Smith transfers to UCLA. Coach Vandergard called him to congratulate him and wish him well with the Bruins. 14 players on our watch/call list participated in the Indy Elite Camp and 32 participated in the Las Vegas Revue. So the camps helped us assess their capabilities and also get to know them a little. Our attendance kindled the interest of a few of the camp participants in EWU. We got our first verbal acceptance of a scholarship in late September: SG Anthony Alston, 6-1 HS Sr, Tucson, Arizona, 2.3 GPA. He’s an excellent outside shooter and scorer. He plays tenacious defense and is very athletic. He was in the Top 25 at the Las Vegas Revue. Ranked #32 in the nation with an overall A rating. Now, hopefully he can just get a high enough SAT to qualify. No other recruits gave us verbals this fall, so we will continue to attempt to build interest in a number of recruits throughout the winter so we can get the rest of the signings in the spring.

2015-2016 Season Potato-Pickin’-Paul, “Eagle Flight” blog During the recent season the Eastern Washington basketball program continued to gain strength and the team became more successful. But throughout the season allegations abounded about various purported scandals (none of which were proven) as well as the arrest of the university’s president, athletic director and head basketball coach (followed by their subsequent releases after charges were not only unproven but dropped in their entirety). Little Cheney, Washington became the 21st century equivalent of Peyton Place. Will the 2015-2016 season result in continued improvement of the program together with muting of the turbulence surrounding it? Only time will tell. Coach Bret Vandergard steadfastly refuses to discuss non-basketball issues, but regularly expresses excitement about the team’s on-the-court promise.

Nancy Parker, Athletic Department secretary Finally Coach Vandergard took a well-deserved vacation after the conclusion of the tumultuous 2014-2015 season. He’s gone for a week away at an “undisclosed location”. Swede asked me to call Meaghan Kriley and thank her for all her help. Strange, her voice mail says she is on vacation also. Hmmmmm.

Torbern “Swede” Olaffson, Athletic Director Kauai is great. But there were some work-related things that I’d planned to do before Kate-girl and Kelli kidnapped me to this lush island…and some of those things just couldn’t wait. One was to confer with Bret Vandergard about the team’s past and forthcoming seasons and to hopefully keep him from looking to jump ship to another head coaching job next year. So I called Bret. I told him I liked the recruits he has added, particularly the 7-0 center and the play-maker point guard. I set somewhat higher goals for next year, but nothing that should create too much pressure. He has enough on his mind as it is. He wanted an upgrade in facilities. While I’d like to accommodate him, with the censure by the NCAA, even though it was unofficial, there is no way the Board of Regents will approve that type of request. So we’ll just have to live with our somewhat tired facilities for at least another year. He said he’s looking forward to taking the Eagles the next step of their upward journey, so that relieved my mind. Kelli's telling me it's time to leave for the luau.

Jamal Smith, 1st Asst Coach My contract expires next year. Coach V met with me and told me he and Swede appreciated the job I have done here at Eastern Washington and wanted to extend my contract. I’d already talked this over with my wife and we’d decided that next year might be the right time to strike out and see if there were any head coaching jobs I could get. While I’d never really considered that before, Coach V has given me responsibilities that exceeded my expectations and allowed me to be involved in all aspects of working with the team. So before Coach V could pass along the monetary offer for the extension he and Swede had discussed, I let him know that while I liked working here and for him and felt that I’d been given some good opportunities here, I wanted to leave my options open to go after a head coaching job. Coach V immediately said that he thought I was ready for that and would be a great head coach. He said if I decided to go after a head coaching job next year, he’d give me the highest of recommendations. Coach V said that if I changed my mind and wanted to stay on his staff after this coming year, he’d be extremely happy to continue working with me. As I left, my stomach was turning and I was hoping I had made the right decision by turning down the extension.

Nancy Parker, Athletic Department Secretary I like to keep track of what athletes do after graduating from Eastern Washington. There were 6 graduating seniors on this season’s basketball team: C JOSEPH PALMER: He is from nearby Pullman, Washington. Joseph has been accepted into a graduate program in political science at the University of Iowa. Christine Rozniak offered to provide Joseph with some pointers in practical politics (whatever she means by THAT), but I steered him clear of her clutches. PG ROBBIE TAFLINGER: He’s from the other side of the state in Tacoma, Washington. Robbie plans to head back to Tacoma to help his parents with their digital arts business. He was a close friend of Don Watson, who transferred last year to the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma (and became a solid player of their team averaging 14.6 ppg and 7.3 rpg as a sophomore), and the two plan to share an apartment in Tacoma. Robbie plans to be a player-coach for the Tacoma Totems, an adult men’s team in the Puget Sound Basketball League. SG BRIAN ROBISCH: He hails from Eatonville, Washington, a small town on the west side of the Cascade Mountains. Brian has a mid-management job lined up with the city of Yakima, Washington in their planning department. This summer Brian will be marrying Joan Therriault, who also graduated from EWU this year. SF DELAWN WEST: He’s from Washougal, Washington, a small town across the Columbia River from Portland. Oregon. Delawn is going to England this summer to explore the country and its history, then hopes to find a teaching job there. C ODIE JOSEPH: He is from nearby Spokane, Washington. Odie will be entering a master’s program at Washington State University in chemistry after spending this summer in an internship program for Dow Chemical. C MICHAEL TAYLOR: He is from Ocean Shores, Washington, a tourist town on the Pacific Coast of the state. Michael will be an assistant basketball coach at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, a Division II team. He also hopes to take some graduate level courses there. I’m always so proud of our players, not matter which sport it is. It’s good to see all 6 of these men heading on to new challenges. Since Coach Vandergard insists upon his players doing well academically, it’s not surprising to see them prepared to do well in the future. The last head basketball coach couldn’t take care of himself, let alone his players.

Jamal Smith, 1st Asst Coach I’d continued actively recruiting throughout the winter and into spring. Then in late March, after we’d been eliminated from the CIT Tournament and he’d been released from jail, Coach V made home visits to 4 recruits. Two of the four expressed interest in coming to Eastern Washington next year. We had another recruit who was also highly interested. These 3 (a C, a SF, and a PG) were all ranked in the Top 100 in the nation. There were also some lower ranked recruits who were highly interested, but I was pretty sure Coach V would choose from amongst the 3 in the Top 100. Coach V and I had a lengthy discussion about the 3 players that were highest on our list. Any one of these would likely to be a starter on our team next year, or at least give us much greater depth. We could wait until early April when Coach V could made another series of home visits, but we finally decided to offer the scholarship to the 7’0” center now. If he didn’t accept, we then would offer the scholarship to another recruit in April. In mid-April our scholarship offer was accepted. Here’s the recruits we landed this year: PF Byron Crawford, 6-7 HS Sr, Boise, Idaho, 3.0 GPA, 1040 SAT. 17.8 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.4 spg, 2.7 bpg. Byron has a great inside shot and is a high scorer. He’s also a strong rebounder. Defensively he is an excellent shot blocker. Although he’s a very talented player he could work harder and has had a few attitude and discipline problems, but he rarely misses practices. He had a decent, if unspectacular, showing at the Las Vegas Revue. He’s ranked #51 nationally and has an overall rating of B. C Colin Goode, 7-0 JC So, Thomasville, Georgia, 2.1 GPA. 16.5 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 4.1 apg, 2.1 spg, 2.2 bpg. Colin has an excellent inside shot and is a strong scorer. He’s an outstanding rebounder and is very strong defensively. He’s a hard working kid. He’s primarily a post player. He’s ranked #58 nationally and has an overall rating of A. SG Danya Lawson, 6-4 HS Sr, Battle Ground, Washington, 2.8 GPA, 1050 SAT. 16.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 3.2 apg, 2.1 spg, 2.2 bpg. Danya has a great outside shot, a very good inside shot, is an excellent free throw shooter, and is a strong scorer. He’s a very good ball handler. He’s a talented player but could work harder and has some attitude and discipline problems, but rarely misses practices. He was in the Top 25 at the Las Vegas Revue. He’s ranked #481 nationally and has an over rating of B. PG Darryl Bailey, 6-1 JC So, Pe Ell, Washington, 2.7 GPA. 15.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 5.9 apg, 2.5 spg, 0.3 bpg. Darryl has a great outside shot. He is an outstanding passer and ball handler which was the primary reason we chose him. He needs to work on his defense. He has a tremendous work ethic. While he’s not a leader, he doesn’t cause problems. He’s rated #561 nationally and has an overall rating of C.

Awards Big Sky 1st Team All Conference: PF Cory Davis Big Sky 2nd Team All Conference: C Joseph Palmer Big Sky Coach of the Year: Bret Vandergard

Inevitable Foreshadowing A Mysterious stranger boards the plane in coach class and follows the Olafson family to Hawaii......... [Copied from post by CoachC in Wolverine Studios forum]

Catherine Olaffsen, Swede’s wife [beaming now that Swede has been released from jail and cleared of all charges and that their daughter, Kelli, is finally safe and home with them.] Catherine: Swede, your heart problems, the weird happenings within the basketball program, your incarceration...it’s all been too much. It’s time for you to take a break. Swede: Oh come on now, Cat girl. I’m a big boy and can take it. Catherine: I most certainly know better than that! Kelli: Yes, Dad. You need some rest and relaxation. I’ve made reservations for a condo on Kauai. And I’ve got airline tickets for you, Mom and me. And the whole thing is non-refundable. So, knowing how much of a tight-wad you are, I am CERTAIN that you will understand that we HAVE to go. Swede: Alright, alright! Women!

NCAA Championship #1 seed Duke-76, #1 seed UCLA-63

NCAA Round 1 #16 seed Northern Arizona (11-20) vs #1 seed Duke (23-7) [Duke broke out on top and never trailed. By halftime they were ahead 44-22. Final Score: Duke-73, Northern Arizona-55. PoG: Duke’s PF Jason Fuhs-26 pts, 7 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.]

NIT Championship #1 seed Richmond-62, #8 seed Stanford-52

CIT Championship #6 seed Wichita State-71, #5 seed Mount St. Mary-47

CIT Round 2 #5 seed Weber State (19-10) vs #1 seed Wright State (19-11) [shortly after the beginning of the game, the wheels began to fall off for Weber State. By the end of the first half, they trailed 48-36. Wright State kept the pressure on in the 2nd half and was never challenged. Final Score: Wright State-82, Weber State-64. PoG: Wright State’s SF Ray Bennett-19 pts, 5 reb, 1 steal.]

All characters in this dynasty thread Phew! Our heads are spinning!

Aftermath Over the next couple of weeks the papers can hardly keep up with the headlines. Much confusion reigns however. In short: Former Washington high school coach Tony .Carpelli is arrested for suspicion of murder, racketeering, attempted kidnapping, and a half dozen other charges including a forgotten 1878 Washington state statute against spitting in public with ladies present. Cheney Chiefe of Police Matt Hauser is arrested on charges of tampering with evidence, destruction of evidence and obstruction of justice. At the Grand Jury hearing of Clement Morgan, no indictment is obtained due to lack of evidence. Almost immediately thereafer, FBI agents arrest Fred Parkington on the same charges that were originally brought against Clement Morgan, in addition to several others, including pandering. Within a week, the board of regents vote to re-instate Clement Morgan as President of EWU. All charges against Tolbert Olafson and Bret Vandegard are dropped when the witness recants her story claiming she was coerced into a false statement. Within a week of the release of Olafson and Vandegard, the NCAA drops all pending charges against the EWU basketball program, but unofficially censures the program for being too "rambunctious" The headlines hail the sudden reappearance of Corky Brannigan, but as Brannigan has thus far declined any and all interviews, the nature of his disappearance remains mysterious. Lt. Herschel Rozniak has been appointed by Cheney city council as the new Chief of Police. The investigation into the death of Bud Springfield, Jr. continues. A warrant is out for the arrest of former EWU head coach, Dawes Johnson, but he has yet to be apprehended. Cheney city council member Christine Rozniak calls a press conference in which she she states that she is appalled by recent developments in HER city and vows to rid Cheney off any future embarrassments. At the end of Jim Rome's national broadcast of March 14th, he tells his viewers that the rest of the week will be filled by "best of" episodes because he is on to the nation's capitol to be king of the annual Easter Parade. [Copied from post by CoachC in Wolverine Studios forum]

In a little shack out in the country Bound and gagged,blindfolded and ted to a chair, Kellli tenses when she hears a door open and tenses even more when someone cuts her hands lose, removes the gag and the blindfold. She immediately begins to cuss like a sailor, and vows to gut whoever is in the room with her like a fish. "Is that any way to talk to your savior, Kelli?" Kelli looks up into Alec's face and for one of the few moments of her life is speechless. But only for a moment. "WHAT? YOU?? You are behind this?" "Hardly, Kelli. I'm just here to take you to your parents house so you can rest up and figure out what you are going to do to get your father out of jail." "WHAT? What are you talking about?" "I'll explain on the way" [Copied from post by CoachC in Wolverine Studios forum]

Fred Partington pees his pants. [Copied from post by CoachC in Wolverine Studios forums]

Nancy Parker, Athletic Department secretary As she leaves, a thought flashes through the mind of Nancy Parker in which she pulls out a gun, points it at President Pro Temp Fred Partington, and squeezes the trigger...a flag pops out of the barrel of the gun saying "Bang!"

Cheney VFW Hall MEANWHILE After escaping Parkinson, Nancy finds herself headed towards that wench Rozniak and her huge date. Christine stares bullets at her, so Nancy changes directions again and heads toward the punch bowl. From the corner of her eye she spots a rat-faced little guy hanging out in the corner. She turns and finds herself face to face with Tony Carpelli. She wheels around looking for Alec and calls out his name. MEANWHILE Having seen Nancy get too close to Carpelli, Alec moves a few more feet in that direction. MEANWHILE Tony Carpelli sees Olafson's secretary looking at him and is pretty sure she recognizes him too. Out of the corner of his eye, he also spots a muscular guy he's never seen before slowly moving towards him. He suddenly yells out, "SOL!" MEANWHILE Christine Rozniak's enormous date, who happens to be undercover federal agent Sol Molinari, hears Carpelli yelling his name. He pulls out a gun, looks in Alec's direction..nod slightly nods. Then he turns and points the gun at Tony Carpelli. "The jig is up, Tony. You are under arrest", he bellows. MEANWHILE Matt Hauser hears the yelling, pulls out his gun, points it at Sol Molinari and yells, "This is Chief Hauser. Drop your weapon!" MEANWHILE A man in a suit steps out of the crowd pulls out a gun and points it at Chief Hauser. He yells, "FEDERAL AGENT LAWRENCE LAWRENCE! DROP YOUR WEAPON CHIEF HAUSER! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!" MEANWHILE A Number of Cheney's finest in attendance, totally confused, also pull out their weapons and point them at various people, including each other. MEANWHILE Tony Carpelli in total shock yells, "SOL? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?", grabs Meaghan around the neck and uses her as a shield and starts backing towards the exit. When the mass confusion reaches its height, he shoves Meaghan in the direction of Sol Molinari and scurries towards the exit. He doesn't get very far, however, as suddenly an Elvis impersonator steps into the doorway and clotheslines Carpelli knocking him into next Tuesday. Alec quickly moves in to subdue him. MEANWHILE 2 more federal agents step out of the crowd and identify themselves and the confused police officers decide that laying down their weapons and staying out of it might be the wisest decision. Chief Hauser surrounded on all sides by federal agents quickly surrenders. After Hauser and Carpelli are taken into custody and Sol Molinari and Lawrence Lawrence begin questioning everyone else in attendance. Guests are forbidden to leave in the meantime. Alec comes over to Nancy and says, "I'm sorry, Miss Parker, but I must leave to go release Kelli." The Elvis impersonator appears along side of them and says, "Don't worry, Alec, I'll make sure Miss Parker gets home safely." "Thanks, Corky. I owe you one!", Alec says as he turns to leave. As he is walking out he thanks Agent Molinari for the text message he sent to him at the airport. [Copied from post by CoachC in Wolverine Studios forum]