NORTHWEST NOTES: June 4, 2015

Former NIC standout Webb invited to Nike Academy

Boise State forward James Webb III will attend in the inaugural Nike Basketball Academy, scheduled for June 26-30 in Santa Monica, Calif.

Webb, who played at North Idaho College in the 2012-13 season, was invited after event organizers identified him as "one of the top 20 college athletes in the country."

Webb, the 2014-15 Mountain West Newcomer of the Year, will be a redshirt junior for the Broncos next season. The 6-foot-9 wing averaged 11.2 points and eight rebounds per game last year, while shooting better than 40 percent from three-point range.

In addition to the Newcomer of the Year award, Webb was named All-Mountain West Second Team and tabbed to the all-conference defensive team.

In years past, Nike hosted a series of skills academies branded under the names of Nike's top basketball athletes. This summer, there will be just one event with some of the biggest names in the sport on hand as instructors. Among those expected at the camp are LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis.

Ex-Oregon State assistant Lees

named WSU baseball coach

PULLMAN -- Marty Lees has been named baseball coach at Washington State, WSU athletic director Bill Moos announced Wednesday.

Lees becomes the 15th head coach in program history after spending the last three seasons as the assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Oklahoma State and the previous 11 at Oregon State. In those 14 years he has coached 10 teams that have reached the NCAA Tournament, including two national champions with Oregon State.

This past season the Cowboys posted a 38-20 record, falling in the NCAA Stillwater Regional, the first time in his three seasons Oklahoma State did not advance to the Regional Championship game. Along with helping lead the Cowboys to the NCAA Louisville Regional final in 2013 and a Big 12 Conference championship and NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2014, Lees thrived as Oklahoma State's recruiting coordinator. The Cowboys' first class with Lees on board was ranked No. 4 nationally by Baseball America and No. 5 by Collegiate Baseball, and followed that with a 2014 class that was ranked No. 5 by Collegiate Baseball for the second-consecutive year.

Brass named coach of

Sandpoint High track team

SANDPOINT - As a senior in 1994, Matt Brass ran the 800 meters for Sandpoint High and longtime coach Dave DeMers.

Brass then spent more than a decade as an assistant on the Bulldog track team, so it came as a surprise when DeMers approached him to share the news that he was stepping down after 27 years as head coach.

When the position officially opened up, Brass was more than ready to take the baton from his former coach and friend, and was named the new track coach at Sandpoint.

Brass and wife Angie have helped build one of the top 4A cross country and distance running programs in the state. Both are extremely committed coaches, and Angie will now handle most of the distance duties as Matt will be busy handling the head coaching duties.

Brass guided the Bulldog girls to state cross country titles in 2013 and 2014, and is eager to take the reins of the track and field team.

"He's a proven entity," Sandpoint athletic director Kris Knowles said. "The success he's had in cross country, and the professionalism in coaching, we knew the type of guy and coach we were getting. We wanted to keep things rolling, and Matt's the guy to do that. It's a no-brainer."