Northwest Notes June 22, 2020
Cougs add Jakimovski
to top-50 recruiting class
PULLMAN — Continuing to add to his top-50 recruiting class, Washington State basketball coach coach Kyle Smith officially announced the signing of Macedonian international Andrej Jakimovski to a national letter of intent Sunday morning.
Jakimovski, a 6-foot-7 forward, officially joins Efe Abogidi (Delta State, Nigeria), TJ Bamba (Bronx, N.Y.), Dishon Jackson (Vallejo, Calif.) and Jefferson Koulibaly (Montreal, Quebec) as players who have signed NLIs with Washington State basketball for 2020.
“Andrej is someone we have been recruiting for over a year,” Smith said in a news release. “He has been weighing his options of playing professionally in Europe versus the Pac-12. The allure of competing in the Conference of Champions and getting a college degree were too appealing for him. He is a highly skillful playmaker that can play four positions on the offensive end of the floor. He has been a dominant player in his age group and has international experience starting for the North Macedonian national team. He is a good student with high character who fits into our program well.”
Jakimovski spent last season playing in the Italian Serie A2 Basket League as a member of Reale Mutua Torino. Playing in the Italian NextGen Under-19 competition, the young shooter averaged 28 points, 14 rebounds, 4.3 assists per game. In addition to his club play, Jakimovski has been part of the North Macedonian national system, playing both in the youth system and most recently with a call up to the full national team, playing in European qualifying play. At the 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship, Jakimovski led the tournament in scoring at 18.4 ppg while adding 9.4 rpg and 3.1 apg. The year prior, he averaged 9.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game at the same event.
Former Eagle Martin
to join Idaho Athletics
MOSCOW — University of Idaho Athletics announced the hiring of Matt Martin, who will join the Vandals as Associate Athletic Director for Special Projects.
Martin will work in conjunction with Idaho Athletics and University of Idaho Advancement.
“Matt brings some very pertinent experience to Idaho after serving in similar roles at both Winthrop and South Dakota,” Idaho athletic director Terry Gawlik said. “His experience in opening USD’s new arena in 2016 makes him especially suited for this role, and his ties to the area make him a perfect fit.”
Martin’s primary responsibilities will lie with the new Idaho Central Credit Union (ICCU) Arena, set to open in the fall of 2021. A university priority, ICCU Arena has drawn strong support from University of Idaho President C. Scott Green, and approval from the Idaho State Board of Education. Martin will oversee the completion of funding for the $51 million project.
Martin, originally from LaCrosse, Wash., was a team captain for Eastern Washington University’s 2010 FCS national championship team.