Strong
winds expected this afternoon
Mar 27,
2018 Moscow Pullman Daily News
Gusts of
up to 40 mph are expected to whip through the Palouse this afternoon.
According
to the forecast from the National Weather Service, winds between 25 and 40 mph
will sweep across the Palouse from 1 to 6 p.m.
The NWS
recommends residents address any property that may become airborne.
……………………
Men’s
Basketball: WSU sophomore guard Malachi Flynn
Flynn is
leaving WSU
By DYLAN
GREENE, Evergreen March 27, 2018
WSU
sophomore guard Malachi Flynn announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he will be
transferring.
“With
thoughtful consideration, I have decided that I will be transferring from
Washington State University,” Flynn said. “I want to thank Coach Kent and the
entire coaching staff for providing me with an opportunity to further my
education and to play college basketball. I also want to thank my teammates,
professors and fellow students for all of your support during these past two
years.”
Flynn
averaged 15.8 points per game for the Cougars this season and made 41.3 percent
of his shot attempts this past season.
The
announcement comes a day after junior forward Robert Franks declared for the
2018 NBA Draft, but did not sign with an agent in order to maintain his NCAA
eligibility.
“And to
Coug fans everywhere, I thank you very much for your overall support as well,”
Flynn said. “This was not an easy decision for me, but one that I feel is in my
best interest.”
::::::::::::::
MEN’S
BASKETBALL
Washington
State point guard Malachi Flynn announces transfer from Cougars
UPDATED:
Tue., March 27, 2018, 4:41 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson, Spokane S-R
PULLMAN –
Ernie Kent’s Washington State basketball program will now march forward without
both of its top scorers from the 2017-18 season.
WSU point
guard Malachi Flynn, a 30-game starter who led the Cougars in assists and
ranked second in scoring this season, has announced he’s transferring from the
Cougars basketball program.
Flynn’s
announcement comes less than 30 hours after leading scorer Robert Franks
announced he plans to enter the 2018 NBA Draft. Franks is entering the Draft
sans an agent, which leaves open the possibility of a return to Pullman, but
the 6-8 sharpshooter told The Spokesman-Review Tuesday morning he’s “pretty
confident in getting an invite (to the NBA Combine) and leaning toward signing
with an agent.”
Flynn, who
was the centerpiece of Kent’s backcourt since he arrived on campus in 2016, and
Franks, the Pac-12’s Most Improved Player in 2017-18, combined to score more
than 33 points per game last season and were the only Cougars who averaged
double digits.
A 60-game
starter for WSU over the last two seasons, Flynn was the Cougars’ leader with
4.3 assists per game and contributed 3.4 rebounds. He was also a 38 percent
3-point shooter who canned 135 shots from beyond the arc in two years.
Franks was
a 17.4 point-per-game scorer for WSU – that mark ranked seventh in the Pac-12 –
who hauled down 6.6 rebounds and shot the 3-pointer at a 40 percent clip.
Behind Flynn and Franks, the Cougars’ next leading scorers were Viont’e Daniels
(9.0 ppg) and Carter Skaggs (8.0 ppg).
Next to
Daniels, who started in all 31 games, the Cougars won’t return a single player
with more than 11 career starts under their belt. Skaggs, Milan Acquaah and
Kwinton Hinson were all part-time starters for WSU, combining to start in 29
games.
WSU was
the only Pac-12 offer for Flynn, a product of Tacoma’s Bellarmine Prep who was
Washington’s 4A Player of the Year as a senior. He initially committed to
Pacific, but withdrew his verbal pledge
after Kent and the Cougars made a late push.
Flynn
becomes the ninth player to transfer from WSU in Kent’s four years at the helm.
Joining him are guard Ny Redding (Wyoming), center Valentine Izundu (San Diego
State), guard Que Johnson (Western Kentucky), guard Derrien King (Angelo
State), guard Renard Suggs (Nebraska-Omaha), forward Aaron Cheatum (Cal State
San Bernardino), guard Jackie Davis (Odessa College) and guard Trevor Dunbar
(City College of San Francisco).
Presuming
Franks hires an agent, Kent will have three scholarships and three starting
spots to fill next season. Graduate transfer forward Drick Bernstine, a 6.9 ppg
scorer who led the Cougars with 6.9 rpg, also leaves the Cougars. Seattle guard
CJ Elleby (Cleveland High) is the only player the Cougars have signed to a
Letter of Intent at this point.
:::::::::::::::
WSU’s
Three Minute Thesis Doctoral competition Wednesday
From
Pullman Radio News
Washington
State University’s Three Minute Thesis Doctoral competition is Wednesday
afternoon. Each college has already
hosted its own competition. Those
winners will compete in the finals Wednesday.
Each competitor has a maximum of 3 minutes to deliver a compelling
dissertation about their research. The
presentations will be judged by WSU President Kirk Schulz, Provost Dan
Bernardo, Pullman City Supervisor Adam Lincoln and City Councilwoman Ann Parks. The winner will receive 3,000 dollars to
travel to a conference of their choice.
Second place will get 1,500 dollars with third earning 500 dollars. The WSU Three Minute Thesis Doctoral
competition is at 1:00 Wednesday in the Spark Atrium.
:::::::::::::::::
BASEBALL
Cougars
Host Arizona State For Pac-12 Series
From WSU
Sports Info 3/27/2018
WSU Game
Notes vs. Arizona State
ARIZONA
STATE (12-12, 4-2 Pac-12) at WASHINGTON STATE (5-14, 1-5 Pac-12)
Pullman,
Wash. | Bailey-Brayton Field (3,500) | March 29-31, 2018
Thursday,
6:05 p.m. | Friday, 5:05 p.m. | Saturday, 12:05 p.m.
Pac-12
Network
PROBABLE
STARTERS
Sam Romero
| JR | RHP | 1-0, 4.81 ERA, 25 K, 24.1 IP vs. A.J. Block | SO | LHP | 0-3, 5.19
ERA, 18 K, 17.1 IP
Boyd
Vander Kooi | FR | RHP | 3-2, 3.25 ERA, 25 K, 27.2 IP vs. Scotty Sunitsch | SR
| LHP | 1-1, 3.96 ERA, 14 K, 25.0 IP
Eli Lingos
| SR | LHP | 4-1, 2.47 ERA, 37 K, 40.0 IP vs. Cody Anderson | SR | LHP | 1-4,
5.20 ERA, 21 K, 27.2 IP
COUGARS
HOST ARIZONA STATE FOR PAC-12 SERIES
Washington
State (5-14, 1-5 Pac-12) opens its Pac-12 Conference home slate with a
three-game series against Arizona State (12-12, 4-2 Pac-12) beginning Thursday
at 6 p.m., continuing Friday at 5 p.m. before wrapping up Saturday at Noon. All
three games will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.
FOLLOW
ALONG
Follow all
the season's action on the Washington State baseball official twitter page
@CougBaseball, instagram page @Coug_Baseball and wsucougars.com. Links to live
stats and radio streams will be available at the baseball schedule page on
wsucougars.com. Every home game will be webstreamed through wsucougars.com.
ON DECK
The
Cougars will host Gonzaga University next Tuesday at 5 p.m. on the Pac-12
Network. Next weekend, WSU heads to Eugene for a three-game series at Oregon.
LAST TIME
OUT
Washington
State dropped a Pac-12 road series at Arizona last weekend. The Cougars lost
Friday's opener 5-4 after seeing the tying run thrown out at third base while
trying to advance on a ball in the dirt. WSU used a 5-run first inning to take
Saturday's game 5-4 before Arizona clinched the series with a 9-2 win Sunday.
:::::
Horizon
Airlines pulling out of Lewiston
Pullman
Radio News
Horizon
Airlines is pulling out of Lewiston. In
an email Monday to the Lewiston/Clarkston economic development group Valley
Vision, Horizon’s parent company Alaska Airlines revealed that it’s last
flights to Lewiston will be August 25th.
The airline has been serving Lewiston with flights to Boise and Seattle.
The email
states that Lewiston has underperformed financially for years and the airline
can no longer justify the cost of operating in the valley. The average Lewiston flight is only 60% full
while system wide the airline’s flights are 85% full. The official also stated that since Lewiston
is so close to the Pullman Moscow Regional Airport, Alaska can’t justify that
few passengers wanting to use Lewiston.
The move
will be a benefit to the airport on the Palouse. Horizon will add a 4th daily flight out of
Pullman to Seattle starting August 26th the day after leaving Lewiston.
The
decision from Alaska doesn’t affect the valley's other air carrier. Sky West will continue to fly in and out of
Lewiston to Salt Lake City.
:::::::::::::::::::
Student
Conduct rewrite carries into next school year
Size of
task led to issues, delays with developing recommendations last semester
By REBECCA
WHITE, Evergreen March 27, 2018
After more
than a year of operating on emergency rules and month-long delays in the
revision process, WSU officials expect the rewrite of the Student Conduct Code
to carry into next semester, with potential implemented in January 2019.
Student
leaders on the Student Conduct rewrite task force said the delays came in part
from the difficulties the task force faced in 2017 when organizing the group
around a large issue. Confusion about their role as a committee and
communication issues also contributed.
Garrett
Kalt, a member of the task force and ASWSU vice president, said many of the
issues were resolved in October after he and a few other members wrote a letter
detailing nine concerns with the process.
Since that
letter, which was followed by the resignation of the task force chair, the
appointment of two new chairs, an intervention from WSU President Kirk Schulz
and a delayed timeline, Kalt said he feels like the restructuring of the
committee allowed him to represent students better than before.
He said he
is still concerned that during the administrative review process, which began
after the 32 recommendations they developed went before the public in February,
some recommendations the task force wrote or gathered may be reinterpreted or
excluded from the final version.
“We’re
going to spend all this time to make a recommendation,” Kalt said, “but at the
end of the day, it may not matter.”
WSU
Spokesman Phil Weiler said Schulz involved himself to keep the task force
moving forward. He added that this rewrite process isn’t unusual when looking
at how committees at universities accomplish work.
“People
might feel personally that it did not meet their expectations,” Weiler said,
“but as I understand it, the process is a sound process and common process for
trying to deal with difficult issues for a large organization in a big
university.”
Kalt said
when the group adjourned in 2017, they still hadn’t discussed a few issues
in-depth that were priorities for student members of the group, such as group
conduct.
Group
conduct was a particular concern to task force members because of its
connection to a task force review that an independent law firm conducted, which
found that Student Conduct may be biased against the Greek system and football
players. In their reccomendations, members pointed to the property value that
is at risk when entire groups, such as Greek chapters, are punished for the
actions of a few members.
According
to the letter they signed, the task force was given a “final” draft of
recommendations at a Sept. 5 meeting with no explanation of changes made over
the summer, when the task force was not formally meeting because members were
not in Pullman.
Leaders
also announced to the public that the draft would be presented at forums
throughout the state. After this was announced, Kalt, Interfraternity Council
President Tyler O’Brien, WSU Foundation Board of Directors member Don Pelo, WSU
Alumni Association President Mike King and WSU Alumni Association Vice
President Jane Yung wrote in their letter that they objected to the
recommendations being characterized as coming from the task force.
“We were
supposed to submit this draft and that was kind of the point where I was like,
I’m not comfortable saying I represented students in this process,” Kalt said,
“because, blatantly, I didn’t.”
Mary Jo
Gonzales, vice president of Student Affairs, said she welcomed the requests
outlined in the letter and serious cultural changes were made in the division
to allow for more time and consideration of the issues task force members
brought up.
“That
feedback was absolutely essential for us to say, ‘you’re right, let’s take the
time you need, let’s get it right the first time,’ ” Gonzales said.
Although
he is satisfied with the changes made last semester, Kalt said the root of his
and O’Brien’s concerns are issues he saw in the task force last spring and
summer and that they may reoccur in some form during the administrative review
process.
O’Brien
said he felt like he was able to contribute and submitted several ideas that
were accepted as recommendations. He added that he isn’t as concerned with
whether the recommendations are used, just that the justification behind the
decisions the administration makes are transparent.
“Some of
those may be very valid reasons; perhaps there are recommendations we gave
which actually aren’t permissible in a legal sense,” O’Brien said. “but if
that’s not the case, than we really need to know what that reason is.”
Weiler
said the issues the administration takes into consideration when choosing what
recommendations to include in the final version are best practices, how they
may interact with state or federal laws and how practical they are across all
the campuses. Ultimately, he said Schulz will rely on the expertise of his
administration, as well as, the Attorney General’s office and will decide what
to send to the Board of Regents.
Student
Conduct has been operating under emergency rules since January of last year,
according to WSU Board of Regents documents.
After the
Washington Court of Appeals issued its decision in the Arishi vs. WSU case,
stating universities and state colleges must afford students a full
adjudicative process under the Washington Administrative Procedures Act, WSU
Student Conduct has been operating under emergency rules. Because of this, many
Student Conduct cases at WSU have been heard by an administrative judge instead
of a conduct board.
The ruling
stemmed from a 2014 case where 40-year-old graduate student Abdullatif Arishi
was charged with violating WSU’s Code of Conduct after charges were filed
against him for alleged sexual contact with a person under the age of consent.
The court
ruled that WSU violated his rights when the university barred him from
questioning witnesses or issuing subpoenas during his initial hearing.
Weiler
said the Student Conduct recommendations are in administrative review and will
go before the WSU Board of Regents on May 4 and will be acted on June 8. He
said the public can provide feedback during a forum, which was originally
scheduled for the end of spring but has been moved to the fall semester.
He said
public feedback gathered from the forum will be sent to the Board of Regents,
and the university hopes to have its final rules in January 2019. He said at
the beginning of next spring semester, however, it may still be operating under
emergency rules until the new rules can be implemented.
“This is
important not only to students now, but to students in the future,” Weiler
said. “It’s not something we want to rush or can rush.”
Kalt said
he hoped the administration will take the task force’s, and especially the
student members’, perspectives into account when making their decision on what
recommendations to include in the next step of the process.
“This is
for the students,” Kalt said, “so the student perspective on this is absolutely
vital.”
:::::::::::::::::
Washington
State forward Robert Franks declares for NBA Draft, won’t sign agent
immediately
UPDATED:
Mon., March 26, 2018, 8:38 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson S-R of Spokane
PULLMAN –
Washington State basketball fans may have seen Robert Franks’ last game in a
Cougar uniform.
Franks, a
6-8 junior who was awarded the Pac-12’s Most Improved Player honor in 2018
after nearly tripling his scoring average, announced on Monday he will enter
the 2018 NBA Draft. Franks is entering the Draft without an agent, according to
a Twitter post, but says he intends to sign one.
Players
who hire an agent aren’t afforded the option to return to school, even in the
event that they go undrafted, meaning Franks will preserve his college
eligibility until he does so. As long as Franks doesn’t hire an agent before
June 11, he’ll have until that date to decide whether he wants to turn pro or
return to WSU for a senior season.
“These
last 3 years has pushed me to grow as a person and also as a player on the
court,” Franks wrote. “I can’t thank everyone enough at wazzu who have helped
shaped me into the man I am today. With that being said, my dream is to play at
the next level … and I’m ready to pursue my dreams!!”
By submitting his name for the Draft, Franks
will have an opportunity to receive an invitation to the NBA Combine (May
16-20) and work out privately for NBA teams. The feedback he receives from NBA
coaches and executives monitoring those workouts could help Franks make his
decision.
“I’ve
grown a lot in my three years at WSU,” Franks said in a WSU press release. “I’m
excited at the thought of playing at the next level and want to test out the
process and see what opportunities lay ahead for me. I’m not going to hire an
agent just yet, I want to get some feedback and see what I can potentially do.”
With his
17.4 points per game, Franks accounted for nearly one-third of the scoring
Washington State got from its starting five and was the Pac-12’s seventh-best
individual scorer in 2017-18. He nearly tripled his scoring average from
2016-17, bumping his 6.3 ppg to 17.4 ppg, and essentially doubled his
rebounding average, from 3.3 rpg to 6.3 rpg.
He also
benefited from a boost in minutes, starting in all 30 games he appeared in and
averaging 33 minutes per game after logging 16.4 per game as a sophomore.
“Robert
has done a great job for us and has grown tremendously in this system,” WSU
coach Ernie Kent said. “I wish him well as he goes through the process of
evaluating his potential to get drafted.”
NBA teams
could be intrigued by Franks’ combination of shooting and size. A 6-foot-7,
240-pound forward with a long wingspan, Franks was one of the Pac-12’s most
accurate 3-point shooters as a junior, finishing 10th in the conference with a
40.5 percent clip. He ranked ninth in the league with 66 3-point makes.
That’s
also an area he honed between his sophomore and junior seasons. Franks shot the
3-pointer at a 30 percent mark last season. He also shot a cleaner percentage
from the free throw line – 85 percent as a junior opposed to 73 percent as a
sophomore.
Franks
isn’t currently listed on any major NBA Mock Draft board and didn’t have the
opportunity to raise his profile by playing in the postseason. WSU’s season
ended in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament with a 64-62 overtime loss to
Oregon. Franks scored 16 points in the game, on 6-of-11 shooting, but also
committed four turnovers.
After the
loss, Franks said he hadn’t thought about next season, telling reporters “The
season’s over, that’s not something I’m thinking about right now at the moment.
It’ll come down the line in a couple weeks.”
WSU coach
Ernie Kent encouraged Franks to explore that option and test the NBA waters,
which underclassmen are permitted to do without hiring an agent.
“If he’s
in the ballpark where they say come to the combine, do those things, he needs
to go through those things and do those things,” Kent said. “Whether he goes or
not, that’s going to be up to him and his family and everything. But he first
has to get the opportunity.”
Franks’
exit would leave the Cougars with three returning starters for next season:
Malachi Flynn, Viont’e Daniels and Carter Skaggs. Flynn and Daniels each
started in at least 30 games, while Skaggs started in 11. Returners Kwinton
Hinson and Milan Acquaah each made nine starts.
The
departure would also give Kent another scholarship to fill. Currently, the
Cougars only have only one player signed in the class of 2018, C.J. Elleby of
Cleveland High in Seattle.
:::::::::::::
Junior
college punter Oscar Draguicevich verbally commits to Washington State
UPDATED:
Mon., March 26, 2018, 8:33 p.m.
Spokane
Spokesman-Review
By Theo
Lawson
PULLMAN –
The Cougars may have quelled some of their punting issues on Monday when junior
college transfer Oscar Draguicevich announced his verbal commitment to
Washington State.
Draguicevich
signed with UTEP and first-year coach Dana Dimel on Feb. 7 before decommitting
and instead deciding to join Mike Leach and the Cougars. The Hutto, Texas,
native will come to WSU after spending one season at Temple Junior College.
Draguivech
told The Spokesman-Review he plans to move to Pullman this summer and hopes to
be on scholarship when fall camp starts.
Prior to
Temple Junior College, Draguicevich spent one season at Incarnate Word, where
he was the primary punter in 11 games for the FCS Cardinals. He recorded 3,135
yards on 74 attempts for an average of 42.4 yards per punt. Draguicevich also
placed 17 punts inside the 20-yard line and had 14 punts of 50-plus yards.
The
Cougars had trouble finding stability at the punter position last season and
finished ninth in the Pac-12 with their 38.8 yard-per-game average. Inside
receiver Kyle Sweet led WSU with 33 punts, kicker Erik Powell totaled 22 and
kicker Mitchell Cox registered eight more.
Draguicevich
is the son of a former professional soccer player with the same name. His
father spent three seasons in the MLS with the San Jose Clash as a defender and
played professionally for 10 years.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
Vince
Grippi of Spokane S-R says, “By the way, Rick Lukens and I talked with incoming
quarterback Gardner Minshew yesterday for about 20 minutes. He’s an impressive
young man who comes into Pullman with his eyes wide open. If he can play
quarterback as well as he can articulate his goals, the Cougars are going to be
OK at the position. …”
Gardner
Minshew? As a reminder, this of March 20, 2018, from CBSSports.com: “Last
month, former East Carolina starting quarterback Gardner Minshew told Sports
Illustrated that he would join the Alabama Crimson Tide as a graduate transfer
to not only provide a challenge to Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts and depth to
the quarterback room, but to accelerate his coaching career after finishing up
his eligibility.Tuesday, things evidently changed. Minshew announced on Twitter
that he'll take his talents across the country and join Washington State as a
graduate transfer instead of the defending national champions.”
