Seattle Sports: In the Morning

SIGNING DAY!!!
Big recruiting year for Washington. 14th-best class in the nation according to Scout, 25th-best according to Rivals. Willingham told the Times' Bob Condotta there was a "Jake Factor" in the recruiting this year--great players gravitate toward other great players.

If you average out where Rivals and Scout ranked the Northwest teams, here's what you get:

Washington: 18.5 (#14 Scout, #25 Rivals)
Oregon: 21.5 (#24 Scout, #19 Rivals)
Oregon St.: 56.5 (#61 Scout, #52 Rivals)
Wazzu: 81 (#75 Scout, #87 Rivals)

Lakes High of Tacoma had 11 players sign letters of intent yesterday, writes TNT's Doug Pacey. 11! In case you're wondering, Lakes lost in the first round of the 3A state playoffs to eventual champion Skyline. (Never underestimate the power of a Willingham--Ty's son Nathaniel was Skyline's center).

From the Seattle Times: All UW signees, Wazzu signees, EWU, CWU and WWU signees, and a list of high school players from Washington who signed with other schools.

A friend of mine is most excited about this 6-8, 305 OT from Cody Pickett's high school. He looks a little like Napoleon Dynamite, if Napoleon Dynamite was 6-8, 305. Seriously, imagine 6-8, 305 for a second. That's nuts. Let's hope he has great nunchuck skills and moves like a Liger. Also, as a white guy named "Terence Thomas", he's a good candidate for Bill Simmons' "Reggie Cleveland All-Stars."

Jim Moore, who kids because he loves, has a little fun with the fact that the Cougs celebrated their signing class at a casino: "Howie Mandel was at the Northern Quest last week, and Bill Cosby will be here Sunday. On Wednesday, WSU coach Paul Wulff was the headliner, showing off his recruiting class to about 200 Cougs who he pulled away from dealers and bartenders."

Nice job by Wulff. The P-I's Howie Stalwick reports that the Cougs had only three commitments when Wulff took over--they signed 24 players, and even stole one recruit, Cory Mackay, from the Dawgs.

What do you do when a big-name school (LSU) is going after the jewel of your recruiting class (Kavario Middleton of Lakes)? UW recruiting coordinator Chris Tormey tells Molly Yanity: "You call them every day down the stretch and make sure everything is good. ... there's really not much you can do except make that phone call and hope they believe their original choice was the right one."

Rainier Beach coach Mark Haley tells the P-I's Greg Johns about 6-2, 348lb UW recruit Alameda Ta'amu: "Haley recalled a game against West Seattle when Ta'amu sacked the quarterback on one play, chased a running back 30 yards downfield on the next and then dropped the quarterback and recovered a fumble to end the drive."

So Mora's the coach in 2009. Neither he or Holmgren showed up at the press conference. This is going to be an odd year.

Storm fan-favorites Betty Lennox and Izzy Castro-Marques are gone. Lennox was picked by Atlanta in the expansion draft, and Castro-Marques also goes to Atlanta via trade. She and the Storm's 2008 first round pick (eighth selection) get the Storm Atlanta's 2008 first round pick (fourth selection) and Roneeka Hodges, who's the twin sister of Storm guard Doneeka Hodges-Lewis. I have a headache now.

How bad were the "Jail-Blazers"? Back when Portland drafted Travis Outlaw, the team advised his parents to have a family member live with him to minimize their influence. It's worked, Outlaw lives in a modest apartment with his brother and his girlfriend, writes the Portland Tribune's Kerry Eggers.

Tonight's action:
Oregon @ Stanford, 7pm
USC @ Washington, 7pm, (delayed TV on FSN at 9:30)
UCLA @ Wazzu, 7:30pm, FSN
Oregon St. @ Cal, 7:30pm