Northwest Notes May 24, 2022

Palaniuk second at Bassmaster Elite Series event

QUITMAN, Texas — Brandon Palaniuk of Rathdrum finished second at the Simms Bassmaster Elite event Sunday at Lake Fork.

Palaniuk, the former Lakeland High and North Idaho College wrestler, totaled 102 pounds, 2 ounces. Lee Livesay of Longview, Texas, totaled 113 pounds, 11 ounces for the $100,000 first prize.

Palaniuk turned in daily weights of 26 pounds, 9 ounces, 30-1, 27-13 and 17-11 to earn his first Century Club belt for breaking 100 pounds in a four-day event. He earned $36,000.

Spending his tournament on two main spots in the lake’s lower basin, he targeted shallow points in 10 to 25 feet. The less-obvious spots were his preference.

“These were places that I somehow managed to have to myself that didn’t have any pressure,” Palaniuk said. “I think that allowed those fish to set up and stay there. They weren’t constantly getting beat on, so I could kind of cycle back and forth and get those bites.”

Palaniuk caught most of his fish on a Rapala DT-16 and a flutter spoon.

Idaho men's basketball team signs three

MOSCOW — Idaho men's basketball coach Zac Claus announced the addition of three signees, as transfers Terren Frank, Trey Smith and freshman Mikhail Abdul-Hamid join the Vandals for the 2022-23 season.

Frank comes to Idaho as a third-year sophomore after spending one season each at Texas Christian and Vanderbilt. The 6-8, 225-pound forward appeared in 43 total games, compiling 88 points, 61 rebounds and 11 assists.

Frank's father, Tellis was an NBA first-round draft pick in 1987, being selected 14th overall by the Golden State Warriors. Tellis played five years in the NBA and an additional seven years overseas.

Abdul-Hamid is a 6-5, 190-pound wing from St. Louis, Mo. He played three seasons at Christian Brothers College High School, where he helped the Cadets to a 26-6 mark in 2021-22 and a Missouri Class 6A state championship.

Abdul-Hamid averaged 12.4 points per game and 4.5 rebounds in the 2022 Under Armor circuit, playing with club team Fundamentals U. He shot 25 of 56 (44.6 percent) from behind the 3-point line in eight games.

His dad, Stephen played at Wichita State and New Mexico State.

Smith joins the Vandals as a fifth-year senior from San Jose State. The 6-3, 195-pound guard played four seasons for the Spartans, appearing in 86 total games and starting in 22 contests in 2021-22. He averaged 8.4 points, two rebounds, 1.6 assists and 31.4 minutes combined over his junior and senior seasons at SJSU.

Frank, Abdul-Hamid and Smith, combined with signees Nigel Burris (San Francisco), Dominique Ford (Las Vegas), Divant'e Moffitt (Spanaway, Wash.) and Titus Yearout (Lapwai) give Idaho seven total newcomers for the 2022-23 basketball season.