Northwest Notes: Friday, April 17, 2015

Idaho men's basketball team signs three

MOSCOW - First and foremost on Don Verlin's recruiting list for the Idaho men's basketball team was replacing the one-two backcourt punch of Connor Hill, the former Post Falls High standout and the school's career leader in 3-pointers, and Mike Scott.

He believes he and his staff have added the depth to that position to create the necessary competition with the signing of guards Myles Franklin (Hart High School, Newhall, Calif.) and Patrick Ingram (North Central High School, Indianapolis); Trinity Valley Community College, Athens, Texas), in addition to small forward Nick Blair (Bishop Gorman High School, Las Vegas) as the spring signing period began.

"At this point," Verlin said, "it was important that we got good players and great kids. And we did that. We got real good players and we got really, really good kids.

"We expect all three of these guys to come in and make an immediate impact on our program. We anticipate all of them will battle for starting spots and have the opportunity to play immediately here with us."

Ingram (6-2, 200), who was coached at Trinity by former Vandals Kris Baumann and Mark Leslie, initially went to the University of Iowa after his 2012 graduation from Indianapolis' North Central High. He played in 19 games as a true freshman at Iowa before transferring to Trinity Valley. At Trinity, he was a team captain and helped lead the Cardinals to the NJCAA tournament at Hutchinson, Kan. He averaged 12.2 points per game in Trinity's 29-7 season. He also made the honor roll.

"He's a big strong, physical guy who can come in and play right away," Verlin said. "He has a very good feel on how to play. He's a good shooter and handler of the ball. He's going to be a good player from the minute he steps on campus here."

Franklin (6-0, 172) earned all-conference and all-academic honors at Hart High. He was a four-year all-conference choice, a three-year selection to the California Interscholastic Federation team, twice an all-state player, and a McDonald's All-American nominee as a senior. He averaged 22 points, six assists and five rebounds per game. Academically, he was honored among those students who achieved a 3.5 or better grade-point average.

"He's a quick, athletic guard," Verlin said. "He can really play off the ball screens and is a guy who can score inside the lane and outside the lane. We think he can come in and play right away."

Blair (6-4, 185) was a two-time all-conference choice while at Bishop Gorman, where he also played volleyball and competed in track. He was a team captain and averaged 12 points, eight rebounds, 12 assists and three steals per game in earning a McDonald's All-American nomination. He was the MVP in five tournaments.

"Nick is a fantastic athlete," Verlin said. "I expect with his size and athleticism to come in and play immediately. He can score inside; he can score outside."

In addition to losing Hill and Scott from last year's 13-16 squad, sophomore guard Sekou Wiggs elected to transfer.

WSU adds two more to men's basketball class

PULLMAN - Charles Callison and Viont'e Daniels have signed letters of intent to play basketball at Washington State, coach Ernie Kent announced.

Callison, a 6-0, 180-pound guard, averaged 15.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game as a sophomore at San Bernardino Valley College in 2014-15.

Daniels, a 6-3, 170-pound guard from Federal Way (Wash.) High, averaged 24.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game as a senior. He was named The Tacoma News Tribune, Seattle Times and Associated Press 4A Player of the Year, as well as the 4A State Tournament MVP.

The two join Robert Franks (6-7, 175), a forward from Evergreen High in Vancouver, Wash; Derrien King (6-7, 175), a forward from Santa Monica Community College; Jeff Pollard (6-9, 220), a forward from Bountiful (Utah) High; and Renard Suggs (6-3, 200), a guard from Gillette (Wyo.), who each signed with WSU in the fall. Pollard will attend Impact Academy in Las Vegas next season, before joining Washington State beginning with the 2016-17 season.