The Stark Truth

Here’s a trivia question for any NBA fans out there. And, no, it doesn’t have anything to do with the possible move of the Sacramento Kings to Seattle. That seemed like a slam-dunk six weeks ago. Now, not so much. One gets the feeling David Stern is working some creepy behind-the-scenes magic to keep the team in Sac-town. And I’m OK with that, as long as the league delivers Seattle an expansion team that will being play no later than the 2015-16 season, which is when Chris Hansen’s new arena in SoDo is expected to be completed and ready to open.

Anyway, back to the trivia question? How many guards on NBA rosters played their high school or college basketball in the state of Washington? Hint, it’s probably more than you think. (Answer below).

Before I get to the answer, there are four e four NBA forwards from the state: Martell Webster (Seattle Prep), Washington Wizards; Marvin Williams (Bremerton), Utah Jazz; Aron Baynes (Washington State), San Antonio Spurs; Quincy Pondexter (Washington), Memphis Grizzlies.  Of that foursome, Webster’s the top player, averaging 11.9 points and 3.9 rebounds. Williams’ play has really tailed off this season. The former B-town star is averaging a career low 7.4 ppg and 3.6 rpg for the Jazz, but has been nagged by a series of ailments. The latest is a tendinitis in his right heel.

And there’s three centers: Spencer Hawes (Seattle Prep/Washington), Philadelphia 76ers; Robert Sacre (Gonzaga), LA Lakers; Ronny Turiaf (Gonzaga), LA Clippers. Hawes averages 11 ppg, 7.3 rpg. He averaged 14 points in March while playing the best basketball of his career.

That brings us back to the trivia question. How many guards?

Did you say 14? By my count, that’s how many were in the league last week. But Dallas didn’t sign Justin Dentmon (Washington) to a second 10-day contract, so there’s only 13. That’s still a pretty high number, don’t ya think? (Update: There are 14; Justin Holiday is now in the league after signing with Philadelphia in early April).

They are, in no special order:

Nate Robinson (Rainier Beach/Washington), Chicago Bulls. Nate the Great came off the bench to score 35 points in 33 minutes on Thursday in an overtime win over the Knicks. The season-long injury to Derrick Rose gave Robinson an opportunity in Chicago and he’s averaging 14.4 ppg in his seventh NBA season.

Jason Terry (Franklin/Arizona), Boston Celtics. The veteran averages 10.2 points, coming off the bench for the Celtics.

Avery Bradley  (Bellarmine Prep/Texas), Boston Celtics. Former backcourt partner with UW’s Abdul Gaddy, who was the higher-rated player out of high school, averages 9.1 points. Injuries have limited this quick, defensive-oriented player to 47 games, but he had stretches early where he really played well.

Terrance Williams (Rainier Beach/Louisville), Boston Celtics. Yep, three state players on the C’s roster. Williams was in Spain earlier this season and is getting limited minutes. Technically I suppose, you’d list T-Williams as a G-F.

Rodney Stuckey (Kentwood/Eastern Washington), Detroit Pistons. I still remember him coming off a screen and hitting a deep jumper in front of press row in the 2004 Class 4A state finals victory against South Kitsap. “That was an NBA jump shot,” I remember saying to the guy next to me. Stuckey’s coming off the bench now, but he’s still an above-average NBA guard, averaging 11.7 points.

Terrance Ross (Washington), Toronto Raptors. Averages 6.2 points per game in rookie season.

Luke Ridnour (Blaine/Oregon), Minnesota Timberwolves. Ridnour’s probably a better player now than he was in Seattle years ago. Averages 11.6 points. 3.8 assists in his 9th season. He was the 14th overall pick in the 2003 draft by the Sonics.

Brandon Roy (Garfield/Washington), Minnesota Timberwolves. Perhaps the greatest guard to come out of our state, Roy came back for one more season, but appeared in just five games before his knee gave out on him again.

Tony Wroten (Garfield/Washington), Memphis Grizzlies. A classic case of a player who needed more time in college to refine his game, but you can’t blame him for turning pro, not with the money they’re throwing at guys these days. He’s getting 8.5 minutes a game, all of it garbage time, with the Griz.

Aaron Brooks (Franklin/Oregon)m, Houston Rockets. Fourth-year player’s once-promising career seems to be headed in another direction. He was let go by Sacramento and picked up by the Rockets, but isn’t getting much court time.

Isaiah Thomas (Curtis/Washington), Sacramento Kings. The second-year guard has matured into a really good player in just his second season. Thomas averages 14 points, 3.9 assists and would become an huge fan favorite if the Kings move to Seattle.

Klay Thompson (Washington State), Golden State Warriors. Second-year pro seems destined for stardom. Averages 16.4 points while shooting at a 40 percent clip. His genes are pretty good. His dad Mychal Thompson was the top overall pick in the 1978 NBA draft. He won two rings with the Lakers. His mom played volleyball at the University of San Francisco. Older brother Mychel Thompson played basketball at Pepperdine. Younger brother Trayce Thompson is an outfielder and the top prospect in the White Sox’s minor league organization.

Jamal Crawford (Rainier Beach/Michigan), LA Clippers. Crawford could always score, and he’s not slowing down at age 33. The 8th overall pick out of Michigan in 2000, the 12-year pro is averaging 16.9 points off the bench and could be this year’s Sixth Man of the Year award winner.

Justin Holiday (Washington), Philadelphia 76ers. Holiday was signed to a 10-day contract at the start of the month. He’s a strong defender who was playing in the NBA D League. He joins his brother, Jrue Holiday, in Philadelphia. Jrue is Philly’s leading scorer.

Richard Sherman threw out the ceremonial first pitch Thursday night at Safeco Field and it was a strike. The Seattle Seahawks’ cornerback was back in the news earlier in the week when he said that half of the NFL’s players were using Adderall. The Vancouver Sun in British Columbia reported that story. The NFL called Sherman’s comments “irresponsible” and “ill-informed.” Sherman later said he was misquoted, but The Sun is sticking to its story, and released video of the interview. Sherman made even bigger headline earlier in the offseason when he ripped Skip Bayless on ESPN’s “First Take.” Bayless had criticized Sherman, the Stanford grad took Bayless apart:  ”I’m better at life than you.” He called Bayless “a pompous, egotistical, arrogant cretin.” He said: “I’m gonna crush you in front of everybody.”

Has Sherman gone too far? Have you lost any respect for the guy, who is clearly one of the elite pass defenders in the NFL? Should Pete Carroll rope him in? Or is it all of his trash-talking simply fun and games and harmless? I’m kind of on the fence. I don’t mind a little rebellion once in a while, but it seems the more he puts himself out there, the less funny he becomes.

Havard Rugland, a Norwegian kicker, has been signed by the Detroit Lions to compete with David Akers for the job previously held by Jason Hanson. He’s been dubbed “Kikalicious.” Check out this video and you’ll understand why.

Jeff Garcia, the former NFL quarterback who now works as a quarterback instructor, says the Jets should release Tim Tebow sooner than later.

Why Brady Quinn? “He’s a pro,” said Carl Smith, the Seahawks’ veteran quarterback coach. Smith coached Quinn, who was signed to compete for a backup job earlier in the week, at Cleveland. “His best years are ahead of him,” Smith said.

No. 56. That’s when the Seahawks will pick in the NFL Draft. Claire Farnsworth of Seahawks.com. writes that the team once drafted Michael Jackson, a linebacker from Washington who led the Seahawks in tackles from 1980-82, with the 57th pick. They got cornerback Josh Wilson with the 57th 55th pick in 2007. They’ve never had a 56th pick. Who will it be?

A billion dollars for Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers? Teammate A.J. Hawk said whatever Rodgers gets, he’s worth every penny.

Jay-Z could help Victor Cruz land a big deal with the New York Giants. The rapper’s Creative Arts Agency recently announced that it had formed an athlete management firm called Roc Nation Sports. Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano was his first client.

The Seattle Supercross race takes place Saturday, April 20, at CenturyLink Field. Poulsbo’s Ryan Villopoto might have another series title clinched by then. He’s won five straight races and six of the last seven.

Seahawks broadcaster Warren Moon, during an interview in Minnesota, says wide receiver Percy Harvin could be the piece that elevates Seattle to the Super Bowl. 

Some Hall of Fame love for The Glove, Gary Payton.

Story is a little old, but just came across this piece on Todd Linden, the Central Kitsap grad who is still pursuing his dream with the Fresno Giants. Linden was interviewed last month during spring training in Scottsdale, Ariz.

He’s 14 and he’s playing in the Masters? Chinese prodigy is golf’s latest Asian sensation.

More on Tianlang Guan, the 14-year-old golfer from China.

Looking forward to seeing the movie “42″ which opens Friday. The film is about Jackie Robinson, and how he changed society for the better.

Remember Tadd Fujikawa, the Hawaiian teen who played in the U.S. Open and the U.S. Public Links at Gold Mountain as a 15-year-old in 2006? Fujikawa later had a top finish at the SONY Open in Hawaii. He’s now 22 and trying to qualify for the PGA TOUR Canada.

A Q&A with Tiger Woods from the Masters.

FYI

I talked to Brady Steiger earlier in the week and the former South Kitsap baseball star, now playing at Lewis-Clark State, will be the subject of my Thursday column.

Drew Vettleson, coming off an MVP season at Low A Bowling Green (Ky.) will start the season with the High A Charlotte Biscuits (N.C.). The Central Kitsap grad, a right fielder, made a start for the major league Tampa Rays this spring.

Vettleson, 21, is rated the 10th-best prospect in the Rays’ organization by mlb.com.

Also, former South Kitsap standout Aaron Cunningham will open the season with the Round Rock Express, the Texas Rangers’ Triple-A club. Round Rock’s part of the Austin metropolitan area. Cunningham’s goal, of course, is to get back to the majors, where he’s played parts of the last five seasons. The outfielder, who turns 27 on April 27, spent most of last season with the Cleveland Indians and signed a minor-league contract with Texas in the offseason.

Bremerton’s Marvin Williams is averaging career low numbers in his first year with the Utah Jazz, and was recently benched.

Williams, the consummate teammate, seemed to take it all in stride, said his coach Tyrone Corbin. Williams has never complained about playing time or getting a lack of shots during his career. Winning, he has said over and over, is what matters most and the Jazz are on a four-game winning streak and tied with the Lakers for eighth in the NBA Western Conference. Here’s a look at Marvin’s numbers.

Troy Kelly will try to jump-start his season at the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open in San Antonio this week. The Central Kitsap grad and former University of Washington golfer has made just three cuts in nine tournaments, and is No. 180 on the money list ($32,350). He tied for 62nd (Pebble Beach), 63rd  (Puerto Rico) and 67th (Tampa Bay). He’s played 24 rounds and broke 70 just three times, only once in his last 16 rounds. His scoring average (72.726) ranks No. 170. But the beauty of pro golf, as Kelly found out a year ago, is all it takes is one tournament to secure his card for another season. Last year, Kelly’s second-place finish at the Greenbrier paid $658,800. There’s still a lot of golf to play.

I ducked out of the sun in Scottsdale on Sunday and did a little surfing on the web. Look what I found out:

Brady Steiger is on fire at Lewis-Clark State. The South Kitsap grad is hitting .437 with 13 doubles, four home runs and 35 RBIs. The first baseman hits No. 4 in the order for the NAIA Warriors (26-8). He’s walked 13 times and been hit by pitches seven times. His on-base percentage is .511 and his slugging percentage is .647. Steiger started his career at Washington State, but left the program after his freshman year, citing burnout. After sitting out a season, Steiger played a year of JC ball at Sierra College in California. He also played in the summer for the Cheney Studs.

Central Kitsap grad Tyler Baumgartner is starting to see more playing time with the Oregon Ducks, who returned seven of nine starters, including its entire outfield. After a slow start, the transfer from Bellevue CC star has worked his way into the lineup as a DH. He’s hitting .261 with five doubles, a triple and is 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts. He’s started 13 games for the No. 12-ranked Ducks (22-6, 8-1 Pac-12), who are coming off a weekend sweep of Washington in Seattle.

Senior shortstop Nate Roberts is hitting .299 for Seattle University (10-16, 2-4 Western Athletic Conference). The CK grad has seven doubles, a triple, 20 RBI and five steals for the Redhawks. … Landon Cray, a freshman from Chimacum, has cooled off a bit after a fast start for the Redhawks. He’s hitting .243 with a home run.

Bainbridge pitcher Colin Feldtman is 2-0 with two saves for the University of Portland (11-16, 4-2 West Coast Conference). The former Kitsap BlueJacket, a redshirt junior,  has a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings, allowing 14 hits, striking out 14 and walking five.

Central Washington’s Kasey Bielec, a sophomore from North Mason, was 5-for-5 with four runs scored and two doubles in a 13-10 win over Western Oregon on Saturday. Three of his hits came in the final three innings as he helped CWU (17-13, 11-5 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) a four-game series with Western Oregon (17-13, 12-4). Bielec’s hitting .340 for Central. … Randy Button, a senior pitcher from North Mason, is 1-2 with a 4.43 ERA in 22.2 innings for CWU. Button’s appeared in nine games, seven as a reliever.

Pacific Lutheran catcher Curtis Wildung, a sophomore from North Kitsap, has raised his average to .324 for the Lutes (13-9, 6-6 Northwest Confernece). Thirteen of his 23 hits are for extra bases, including 10 doubles, 2 triples and a home run. He’s also walked a team-high 13 times and leads PLU with a .543 on-base percentage.

Allen Hewey, former Central Kitsap and Olympic College standout, is being used as a closer at Campbellsville University in Kentucky. The right-hander is 3-0 with 4 saves and a 1.89 ERA. He’s appeared in eight games. Hewey has given up 19 hits, struck out 18 and walked three in 19.1 innings for NAIA Campbellsville (22-7, 9-2 Mid-South Conference). He is 1-for-2 with a single, walk and hit by pitch in limited time at the plate.

Also

Josh Sontag of St. Martin’s, a freshman infielder from Central Kitsap, is hitting .240 in part-time duty for the Saints (3-27, 1-17 GNAC). Sontag’s played in 18 games, making seven starts. … Michael Calderson, former Olympic College pitcher from Davis High in Yakima, is 6-3 with a 3.29 ERA for Bellevue University in Omaha, Neb.  He has 28 strikeouts in 38.1 innings for the NAIA Bruins (24-4-1), who are working on an 18-game winning streak. Calderon was the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference pitcher of the year n 2012. … North Kitsap grad Daniel Jewett, who played for the Kitsap BlueJackets last summer, is a junior transfer at Nebraska-Omaha. Jewett is using this as his red-shirt season after transferring from Truman State.

SOFTBALL

Shortstop Haylee Baker, a junior transfer from Bainbridge and Bellevue CC, is hitting .230 for Western Washington (16-14, 8-8 GNAC). Baker’s started every game and has a homer and seven RBIs. … Not sure if we hae any other softball players from the Kitsap area playing at four-year colleges. If you know of anybody, let me know. … Watched No. 2 Arizona State beat Oregon State 11-0 in five innings on Saturday in Tempe, Ariz. Sun Devils had eight hits, five of them homers, during the blowout win. Pretty impressive softball team.

GOLF

UCLA’s Erynne Lee, sophomore from Central Kitap, had eight birdies during a record-tying round of 65 (-7) on The Bay Course in Hawaii. Lee finished at one-under par 215 and tied for ninth. She climbed 25 spots on the leader board with her best collegiate round. Lee was ninth in her previous tournament.

UNLV’s Carl Jonson, sophomore from Bainbridge, tied for 35th at the Don Puckette National Invitational Tournament at the Omni Tucson National Golf Club. He was 63rd and tied for 37th in his previous two tournaments.

There’s a possibility Willie Bloomquist could start the season on the DL. The Arizona Diamondbacks player from South Kitsap felt like pulled an oblique muscle during a swing in Tuesday night’s exhibition game. He’ll know more today.

Here’s the link to the MLB.com story.

Got caught by surprise when I showed up in Surprise, Ariz., Tuesday morning. Was looking to get together with North Kitsap grad Jared Prince and South Kitsap grad Aaron Cunningham, a couple of outfielders in camp with the Texas Rangers.

Talked to Prince Monday night and he sounded upbeat. Said he thought he’d be with the Rangers’ Double-A squad at Camelback Ranch for a game against the White Sox.

As I waited for players to file into the bus for the ride to the game, Cunningham strolled by. We exchanged greetings, and when I told him I hoped to get together with him and Prince in the next day or two, he told me Prince had been let go in the morning.

Tough deal for the 26-year-old. The former NK and Washington State star is one of the good guys you like to pull for and he’ll bounce back. As his former manager Steve Buechele told me, “Whatever he ends up doing, he’s going to be successful at.”

Prince hit .234 with 12 homers at Double-A Frisco a year ago. The former Pac-10 Freshman of the Year and All-American from WSU was drafted in the 34th round by the Rangers in 2009 and had moved from rookie league to low high, high A and Double A. His numbers weren’t the greatest, but he impressed everybody with his demeanor and the way he played the game. If he’s a higher draft choice, the Rangers would have made room for him, but they didn’t have a lot of money invested in a guy who also had the talent, in my opinion, to be a starting quarterback in the Pac-12. Here’s his complete minor-league stats.

He got into three major league spring training games for Texas this year, going hitless in two at bats. He played against the Mariners in a game that was televised in the Northwest.

It was 73 degrees and overcast when we headed out of the place we’re renting down here around 8:45 a.m.. When we returned, after catching a few innings of the Rangers-White Sox Triple-A game, it was 87 and sweat was starting to trickle everywhere, if you know what I mean.

Cunningham, by the way, played left and batted No. 2 for the Rangers’ AAA club. He struck out and ground out in the two at-bats we saw.

It looks like Cunningham’s locked in to be a starter for Texas’ Triple-A club at Round Rock, Texas. But sometimes this game will throw some curve balls at you that you weren’t expecting. Like the one Prince got today.

I hope to talk to Prince before he gets out of town. He’ll likely be the subject of my regular Thursday column. I hope to write about Cunningham next week.

And if you missed the monthly Q&A I’m now doing (it runs the last Monday of each month), here’s the conversation I had with Mike Curto, broadcaster for the Tacoma Rainiers. He’s another one of the really nice guys in baseball.

Bremerton’s Glenn Carden advanced to the finals in open singles at the United States Handball Associations’s Hall of Fame and Rocky Mountain Regional tournament in Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday.

The 61-year-old Carden, a 15-time national age-group champion, takes on David Fink, a touring pro who is about 35 years younger, in Sunday’s singles finals. Update: Fink beat Carden 21-3, 21-3.

Carden was also awarded the Marty Decatur Sportsmanship Award during the tournament. Here’s a picture of Glenn and his wife Jackie with the award.

Carden’s been in the Phoenix area for the past month or so.  He was going to enter the 60s, but there weren’t enough entries and they made him the No. 2 seed in open singles.

Carden heads to San Diego for the U.S. Masters singles tournament the first week of April.

How about some more odds?

Passing through Nevada on my way south to Arizona, I checked out  some odds other than those related to the NCAA basketball tournament.

The Washington Huskies, who open the football season at home against Boise State on Aug. 31, are 80-1 shots to win the BCS championship. Boise State, which beat the UW in the Las Vegas Bowl in December, are 50-1 shots.

Alabama (3-1) is favored to win another title. Oregon (4-1) and Ohio State (6-1) were behind ‘Bama.

Besides Oregon, Stanford (10-1) is the only Pac-12 team given a decent shot of winning a national title. But UCLA (40-1), USC (40-1), Arizona State (50-1) and Oregon State (60-1) are all higher rated than the Huskies. Arizona (100-1), Washington State (150-1), Colorado (200-1) and Utah (300-1) didn’t get much respect at all from Nevada bookies.

The Seahawks are getting a lot of respect. Seattle is lumped with New England and Denver at 5-1 to win Super Bowl XLVIII. The 49ers (4-1) are the team to beat. Green Bay (9-1), Houston (10-1), Atlanta (10-1), New Orleans (10-1) and defending champion Baltimore (10-1) are in the next tier.

Do you like the Mariners chances to win the World Series? Nevada oddsmakers list them at 30-1, same as the Diamondbacks, White Sox and Pirates. The Dodgers (5-1) are the pick this season, followed by the Tigers (7-1) Angels (7-1) and Blue Jays (7-1). The Nationals (8-1), and Yankees (8-1) have the next-best odds. The Marlins (100-1) and Astros (100-1) are the longest shots.

Did you put money on Florida Gulf Coast in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament?  FGC’s odds are 999-1. And what were the odds of the FGC coach landing a supermodel for a wife? Really, he did. Read it right here.

GONE-zaga was an 8-1 shot with WAS being the operative word. The Zags ran into a pretty good team in Wichita State, which shot it really good when it mattered. But a lack of depth was apparent, especially after guard Gary Bell went out with an ankle injury in the first half and didn’t return. The Shockers’ bench outscored Gonzaga’s little-used subs 34-7.

The Miami Heat have now won 25 straight games, so it wasn’t surprising to see them as a 5-6 favorite to win the NBA Finals. That means you gotta bet $5 to win $6. Unless you have Donald Trump money, it’s not even worth a play. The Spurs and Thunder are at 3-1 with the Bulls and Clippers at 8-1 and Pacers and Knicks at 9-1.

Jimmie Johnson (2-1) is the clear-cut favorite to win NASCAR’s 2013 Sprint Cup.

Links

Sacramento’s new arena deal avoids new taxes. Are Kings closer to keeping NBA team from moving to Seattle?

RG3 recovery from injury superhuman, says Dr. James Andrews.

Here’s a nice photo gallery from The Spokesman-Review of the Gonzaga-Wichita State NCAA game.

That’s all for now. Got a baseball game to see tomorrow. Time to break out the sunscreen. We’re six minutes away from the home of the White Sox and Dodgers in Glendale, it’s 20 minutes to Peoria, 30 to Surprise. Have a good Sunday. Hope your bracket’s not too busted up.