NORTHWEST NOTES: Saturday, June 4, 2016
EWU men’s basketball team
plans August trip to Australia
With five players on its 2016-17 roster from Australia, the Eastern Washington University men’s basketball program will tour that country in August.
The Eagles will play a total of 8-10 games in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns. In September of 2012, following the first season in the tenure of head coach Jim Hayford, the Eagles toured Canada for eight days.
“A big bonus is we get 10 extra summer practices on top of the games,” said Hayford, whose team must replace a trio of seniors that include all-time leading scorer Venky Jois.
The five players on Eastern’s roster from Australia include senior Felix Von Hofe (Melbourne), sophomore Geremy McKay (Melbourne), sophomore Jesse Hunt (Geraldton) and freshman redshirt Michael Wearne (Croydon). The lone newcomer to the squad from Australia is freshman Mason Peatling (Melbourne).
Jois, who is currently pursuing playing opportunities in the National Basketball Association after breaking 10 school records, is from Boronia (near Melbourne). He had 1,803 points, 1,015 rebounds and 240 blocked shots in his 122-game career as an Eagle and helped open the floodgates for other Australians to attend EWU.
WSU adds QB Gordon
to 2016 signing class
PULLMAN — Washington State added quarterback Anthony Gordon to its 2016 football signing class, Cougars coach Mike Leach announced.
Gordon (6-3, 185) guided City College of San Francisco to a California Community College Athletic Association State Championship and led all California junior college quarterbacks with 3,864 passing yards and 37 touchdowns. Gordon completed 286 of 439 pass attempts (65.1 percent), averaged 297.2 yards per game, recorded seven 300-yard games and was named the CCCAA Championship Game Offensive MVP. The Pacifica, Calif., native was named All-CCCAA Region I First Team and the Bay 6 Offensive Player of the Year.
Gordon attended Terra Nova High School where he was named the Medium School State Player of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports and earned All-State and All-Metro League honors after throwing for a Central Coast Section record 4,899 yards and 49 touchdowns as a senior.
Gordon was junior college teammates with fellow Cougar signee, defensive back Robert Taylor. Gordon signed a financial aid agreement to attend Washington State; he will have four years to play three for the Cougars.
Ex-UI women’s hoops star
Forde signs with German team
Ali Forde, a recent Idaho graduate, did not waste any time looking for her next opportunity on the basketball court. Just a few weeks removed from gradation the former Vandal signed her first professional contract with the Bad Aibling Fireballs of the German Bundesliga.
Forde, a native of Woodinville, Wash., was voted Big Sky Honorable Mention in her senior season. She totaled nine double-doubles on the year, giving her 21 for her career. In her final year as a Vandal she averaged a career-high 10.3 points per game. Her 23 points against Sacramento State marked a career-best.
Forde, a four-year starter, finished her career at Idaho with 1,106 career points. She is second in school history with 244 career blocks. Forde’s 931 rebounds stand fourth in program history. She is the 10th most accurate shooter in Idaho history with a .498 career field goal percentage.
Forde spent her first three years as a dual-sport athlete, splitting time with volleyball. She redshirted in 2012 and spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons as an outside hitter for the Vandals.
The Forde family is no stranger to professional sports. Her father, Brian, played football for the New Orleans Saints as well as in the Canadian Football League. Her brother, Maxx, currently plays for the BC Lions of the CFL.
The Bundesliga season begins in late September. Forde will make her way to Bad Aibling in late August.