Wednesday, April 30, 2008.

What now for coach Bryan Gates of the D-League champion Idaho Stampede? Of course, he could be back for a third season with the Stampede this November. But somebody is bound to recognize the job he's done is earning back-to-back NBA Development League Coach of the Year honors. Gates has taken a group of guys with, by definition, their own agendas and created a stunning team cohesiveness. D-League players are supposed to be trying to get to the NBA, yet the Stampede embraced Gates' system and prospered.

Imagine, if you will, what Gates could do as a college coach. If he can meld a diverse group of pros with tunnel vision, what could he do with college players in their basketball formative years? All Gates needs is a degree (he attended BSU from 1991-96 before begging Bobby Dye for a volunteer coaching job in the Stampede's first season). He's 69-31 in two seasons with the Stamps, and he's won everywhere he's been a head coach. Gates was 21-6 with the Beirut Blue Stars in Lebanon in 2004-05 and 23-0 with the good ol' Hickory Nutz in the Carolina Basketball League in the summer of 2003. And he made the USBL Finals and won three division crowns with Oklahoma before that.

Ironic that we're talking about Idaho Stampede accomplishments on this, the 47th birthday of one Isiah Thomas. Not that the Stampede investor group would wish ill will on anyone, but those folks aren't shedding a tear over Thomas seeing his coaching stint with the New York Knicks go up in flames. He took over the CBA--and operation of its franchises--in 1999 and drove the league into the ground, to the point that it folded in February of 2001. The Stampede was forced to go dormant for one season before Bill Ilett and the original investors revived the franchise for the 2002-03 season. Now it's happily settled in the NBA's D-League and sizing its personnel for rings.

A little more aftermath on the NFL Draft: A number of draft-watchers around the country did a double-take when the Tennessee Titans took East Carolina's Chris Johnson in the first round. Nobody in Boise State's camp, though. Every time you see a highlight of Johnson, he's pulling away from somebody. Especially on his 68-yard touchdown run against the Broncos in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl last December. It was like a cartoon. Johnson recorded the fastest 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine in February at 4.24 seconds. BSU's Orlando Scandrick, of course, was fourth at 4.32, and Scandrick spent some quality holiday time trying to chase Johnson down at Aloha Stadium. Johnson is drawing comparisons to Reggie Bush and is seen as a perfect complement to Bush's old USC teammate LenDale White with the Titans.

It wasn't until 2005 that a Humanitarian Bowl participant went in the first round of the NFL Draft. That was Fresno State offensive tackle Logan Mankins. But since then there have been 11 more, including five this year, lending credence to the bowl's association with the ACC. Mankins and Clady are the only two who didn't hail from the ACC. Joining Clady this year were Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan and offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus, Virginia defensive end Chris Long, and Miami safety Kenny Phillips. That means four Hurricanes who helped defeat Nevada 21-20 in the 2006 H-Bowl have become first-rounders.

The Boise Burn's three-game homestand wraps up Saturday night in Qwest Arena against the Stockton Lightning, the victims of the great awakening by the Burn three weeks ago. Boise trailed Stockton 30-0 at one point and rallied for a 51-43 victory. The Lightning have been reeling since, scoring only 27 and 24 points in two more losses, and Monday they fired offensive coordinator Josh Wallwork, the one-time Wyoming quarterback. Stockton will need some firepower against the Burn defense, which has allowed only 28 and 14 points in its wins the past two weeks. That's pretty good stuff in arena ball.

The Boise State men's tennis team had, as coach Greg Patton put it, "two days to wait out on the street to see if the NCAA bouncer will let us into the NCAA dance or if we will pressing our noses to the window and watching." Well, BSU will get a shot at redemption after its semifinal upset loss in the WAC Championships last week. The Broncos are a serious underdog, though, as they face Cal a week from Friday in the first round of the NCAA Team Championships on USC's courts in Los Angeles. This will be BSU's fourth straight trip to nationals. The Bronco women, meanwhile, are headed to the NCAA's for the second straight season after finishing the WAC Championships are runnersup. They'll be at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN, and will play Kentucky in the first round a week from Friday.

Boise State's money man, Troy Merritt, goes into today's final round of the WAC Golf Championships with a sizeable lead in his quest for medalist honors. Merritt turned in a tw-under-70 yesterday at the Cinnabar Hills Golf Club in San Jose and is now six-under for the tournament, five shots up on teammate Matt Hastings and Fresno State's Grant Doverspike. The Broncos as a team are just three shots behind the leader, New Mexico State.

College baseball yesterday: Northwest Nazarene, having already clinched its first winning season in 25 years, split a doubleheader yesterday at Utah Valley State. The Crusaders took the opener 4-3 before being blitzed 15-6 by the Wolverines in the second game. And the College of Idaho geared up for its big weekend series with British Columbia by splitting a twin bill at Division II Central Washington yesterday, dropping the first game 5-4 before winning the nightcap 7-5.

This Day In Sports...April 30, 1961:

I listened to this game on the radio 47 years ago today...Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants joins another elite club--those who have hit four home runs in a single game. Mays did it against the Braves at County Stadium in Milwaukee, a couple of 'em going over the head of Hank Aaron. Mays, of course, ranks fourth on the career home run list behind Aaron, Babe Ruth, and now his godson, Barry Bonds, who's at the top of the list.

(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment Sunday nights at 10:30PM on KTVB's Sunday Sports Extra and anchors five sports segments each weekday on 1350 KTIK/The Ticket. He also handles color commentary on KTVB's telecasts of Boise State football.)

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