The last three or four days have been pretty interesting for area high school and college hoops. In the GSL it was rivalry week and while there were no major upsets there were a lot of surprisingly close games. League leading Central Valley narrowly defeated University 50-49 in the Stinky Sneaker competition, Ferris beat Lewis & Clark 61-54, and Mount Spokane handled Mead 64-48. At this point the GSL 4A ranks have Central Valley solidly in first (7-0), Gonzaga Prep in second (6-1), Mead and Ferris tied for third (4-3), with University just a game behind them (3-4). Tuesday's matchup with Ferris at Mead will be huge for further establishing the standings with University almost assured of picking up a win against North Central (2-12 overall right now).
Switching gears to the college front: after a really rough stretch in northern California last week, WSU bounced back in a big way with a stunning 72-61 home win over 8th ranked Oregon on Thursday. Then Saturday they celebrated the retirement of Klay Thompson's jersey with a big 89-76 win over Oregon State. I felt great about Kyle Smith's hiring last spring, but I did not expect the level of Pac-12 success he's already managed to coach this team to (3-3 going into next week's games at Utah and Colorado). Athletic Director Pat Chun continues to make all the right moves when it comes to hiring coaches and bringing a ton of excitement and positive attention to Pullman, WA.