Former NIC hoops coach Phay:

‘I am not a good fit’ at ISU

One day after Idaho State announced men’s basketball associate head coach Jared Phay had been placed on administrative leave, the former North Idaho College basketball coach released a statement to the Idaho State Journal newspaper of Pocatello on Monday.

“I have been told that things are not working out with our current situation and that ISU has placed me on paid administrative leave,” Phay said in the statement. “As far as I know, there truly is not more to the story than simply being I am not a good fit and we mutually agree that I should not return for the 2020-21 season.”

Phay continued: “I wish ISU nothing but the best and am grateful for this opportunity and the new experiences I learned. I look forward to continuing my coaching career and what the future holds for me and my family.”

ISU and Phay mutually agreed Friday that he will not return to the Bengals’ coaching staff next season, the school said.

ISU declined further comment, citing personnel reasons.

Phay was head coach at NIC for 10 seasons, and was an assistant for the Cardinals prior to that.

Before that, he was head coach at Falls Christian Academy in Post Falls.

He was head coach at College of Southern Idaho the past five seasons, before joining new ISU head coach Ryan Looney (also a former NIC assistant) in Pocatello prior to this season.

ISU is 6-18, 3-12 in the Big Sky Conference, and has lost 10 straight games.

Petrusev earns another WCC

Player of the Week honor

Gonzaga’s Filip Petrusev was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.

Petrusev recorded his eighth double-double of the season in the No. 2 Zags’ (26-1, 12-0 West Coast Conference) 18th straight win Saturday at Pepperdine. He scored 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in Gonzaga’s 39th consecutive conference regular season win and 39th WCC road win in-a-row. The sophomore added three assists, a steal and a block in 35 minutes.

He made nine of his 20 shots from the field, and currently tops the West Coast Conference shooting 56.8 percent from the field. Petrusev also made 9-of-13 from the free-throw line. He matched his career-high for most points in a half, with 20 in the first half, the most in the first half in his career. The Belgrade, Serbia, native is second in the conference averaging 8.04 rebounds per game, third with 17.56 points per game, and fifth in blocks per game (0.93).

It is the third WCC weekly honor of the season for Petrusev and his second in three weeks. He is the third Bulldog to receive the honor this season, and it is the fifth time a GU player was named the conference player of the week.

Gonzaga welcomes San Francisco (17-10, 6-6 WCC) on Thursday, before visiting No. 23 BYU (21-7, 10-3) on Saturday.