Team USA 77, Panama 74

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One last try for the national squad at the Pan-American games leads to a great game and a somewhat disappointing fifth place finish. The silver lining was the inspired play of Derrick Low, scoring sixteen points and hitting key buckets down the stretch as the U.S. came back from an 11 point deficit to win. Again, Kyle Weaver doesn't play, because having two teammates on the floor who know each others tendencies just makes too much sense. All in all it was a good showing for the Cougs in international play.

I have yet to mention the de-commitment of Mark McLaughlin from the basketball team, but after all the great recruiting news we've it only made sense something would bring us back down to Earth. I have a few opinions on this matter, so here they are:

If he wants to open up his recruiting, that's fine. Remember these players are just kids and they need to find a place that works for them. He's likely headed for UW as part of their new recruiting strategy, "Get players to commit to one school, and then have them back out and commit to us". Awesome. If McLaughlin still wants to be a Coug, great, and if he wants to be a husky, we'll make sure his trip to the Palouse isn't even remotely pleasant. Don't worry Mark, we treat all huskies the same.

Olek Czyz and his Scrabble high-scoring last name will likely not be a scholarship recipient for the Cougs either. He's whittled his choices down to Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Duke, Florida and Arizona State. I think it's safe to say he's no longer off the radar. I'm still at a loss to see why ASU is landing or in the running for so many good recruits, unless of course it has to do with the women down in Tempe.

And as bad as the above news is, there is a silver lining. With the McLaughlin commit, he would've been the third SG commit for the Cougs in 2008. That's a potential log jam if I've ever seen one. Harthun is just about as good as McLaughlin, and Nick Witherill is a major sleeper from a recruiting standpoint. Throw in Anthony Brown in '09, and the Cougs don't have a big man coming until Patrick Simon arrives in 2010. Again, I like McLaughlin's game and I think he'd make a great Coug, but if he opts for somewhere else at least we can use the scholarship on a forward or center. Personally I hope Tony made some friends in Australia and New Zealand that could fit the role.

M's start a HUGE series with the Angels tonight. Doba still doesn't have a football commitment for 2008.