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MSU men's basketball: Signing time crazy as ever
By JEFF WELSCH, Chronicle Sports Editor
The whole point of the November early-signing period was to make life easier for basketball players and coaches.
This year, it's only made it zanier for Montana State men's coach Mick Durham - and Wednesday was only Day One.
Durham received the expected fax from 6-foot-9 forward/center Travis Derochowski of Salem, Ore., the cornerstone of the recruiting class. He signed his binding national letter of intent during a pep assembly at tiny Western Mennonite School.
"We've got a big, strong kid that can run whose best basketball is ahead of him," said Durham, finally allowed to comment publicly on a coveted recruit who committed in April.
Otherwise, Wednesday provided little sense of normalcy.
Cory Davis, a 5-foot-10 guard from West Salem (Ore.) High School who committed in September, didn't fax his letter. Sources said he surprised the MSU coaches by saying he might wait until spring to sign.
Neither Durham nor his staff are allowed to comment on recruits until they sign, but he did concede that the Bobcats' signing plans are in limbo, at least temporarily.
The 'Cats have five scholarship offers on tables in various corners of the country.
Two are to junior college players, and Durham is confident that one, a power forward, will sign perhaps as early as today. The other, he said, "is a coin toss" with another school, and they haven't received return phone calls from the fifth offeree.
"This has been an interesting day," said Durham, who is in his 16th year as head coach. "Usually during the early-signing period, it's 'here's what you've got.' "
What they've got for sure is Derochowski, who once dreamed of an NCAA Division I swimming scholarship and only took up basketball as a high school freshman.
The 240-pounder averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 assists for Western Mennonite, which plays at a level comparable to Three Forks and Manhattan.
Derochowski told the Chronicle in April that he chose MSU over Utah and several other major schools because of his love of the outdoors, the school's photography/wildlife majors and a chance to play immediately.
"Everything they had was perfect for me," he said.
Derochowski flew slightly under the recruiting radar because of the lack of competition in Oregon's Class 2A level, but for the past two years he played in the spring and summer for the Portland Panthers Amateur Athletic Union team.
"So he's had competition at his level," Durham said.
The MSU coach said he takes a wait-and-see approach with about 80 percent of his recruits and only rarely, such as in the case of Nate Holmstadt and Danny Sprinkle, has he ever felt he stole a player away from a high-powered program.
Derochowski, Durham said, is somewhere in that upper 20 percent. Washington assistant Jim Shaw, once on Durham's staff at MSU, reinforced the notion.
"Jim Shaw said, 'You've got a heck of a player there,' " he said. "Did we get a steal or not? Time will tell. I'd like to think this is a level he could be real successful at."
Now that Derochowski is a lock, giving Durham two potential backup centers (Chawn Johnson is the other) for Ted Morris next season, he'll turn his focus back to the fax machine in the athletic office.
He hopes the first fax comes from Oregon, followed by another - perhaps two - from Oklahoma.
"I don't know," Durham said at the end of a wacky day. "We've got a week to see if they sign."
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By JEFF WELSCH, Chronicle Sports Editor
The whole point of the November early-signing period was to make life easier for basketball players and coaches.
This year, it's only made it zanier for Montana State men's coach Mick Durham - and Wednesday was only Day One.
Durham received the expected fax from 6-foot-9 forward/center Travis Derochowski of Salem, Ore., the cornerstone of the recruiting class. He signed his binding national letter of intent during a pep assembly at tiny Western Mennonite School.
"We've got a big, strong kid that can run whose best basketball is ahead of him," said Durham, finally allowed to comment publicly on a coveted recruit who committed in April.
Otherwise, Wednesday provided little sense of normalcy.
Cory Davis, a 5-foot-10 guard from West Salem (Ore.) High School who committed in September, didn't fax his letter. Sources said he surprised the MSU coaches by saying he might wait until spring to sign.
Neither Durham nor his staff are allowed to comment on recruits until they sign, but he did concede that the Bobcats' signing plans are in limbo, at least temporarily.
The 'Cats have five scholarship offers on tables in various corners of the country.
Two are to junior college players, and Durham is confident that one, a power forward, will sign perhaps as early as today. The other, he said, "is a coin toss" with another school, and they haven't received return phone calls from the fifth offeree.
"This has been an interesting day," said Durham, who is in his 16th year as head coach. "Usually during the early-signing period, it's 'here's what you've got.' "
What they've got for sure is Derochowski, who once dreamed of an NCAA Division I swimming scholarship and only took up basketball as a high school freshman.
The 240-pounder averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 assists for Western Mennonite, which plays at a level comparable to Three Forks and Manhattan.
Derochowski told the Chronicle in April that he chose MSU over Utah and several other major schools because of his love of the outdoors, the school's photography/wildlife majors and a chance to play immediately.
"Everything they had was perfect for me," he said.
Derochowski flew slightly under the recruiting radar because of the lack of competition in Oregon's Class 2A level, but for the past two years he played in the spring and summer for the Portland Panthers Amateur Athletic Union team.
"So he's had competition at his level," Durham said.
The MSU coach said he takes a wait-and-see approach with about 80 percent of his recruits and only rarely, such as in the case of Nate Holmstadt and Danny Sprinkle, has he ever felt he stole a player away from a high-powered program.
Derochowski, Durham said, is somewhere in that upper 20 percent. Washington assistant Jim Shaw, once on Durham's staff at MSU, reinforced the notion.
"Jim Shaw said, 'You've got a heck of a player there,' " he said. "Did we get a steal or not? Time will tell. I'd like to think this is a level he could be real successful at."
Now that Derochowski is a lock, giving Durham two potential backup centers (Chawn Johnson is the other) for Ted Morris next season, he'll turn his focus back to the fax machine in the athletic office.
He hopes the first fax comes from Oregon, followed by another - perhaps two - from Oklahoma.
"I don't know," Durham said at the end of a wacky day. "We've got a week to see if they sign."
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Send questions or comments about this site to the webmaster
