TERRY MOSHER
CAMIE (YEIK) DEVITT
TOP OF THE TOWN ‑ This Saturday (Jan. 25) is the big day for area sports fans when the Kitsap Athletic Roundtable holds its induction for the 2019 class of the Kitsap Sports Hall of Fame at 1 p.m. at Kiana Lodge in Poulsbo. Social hour begins at noon. Camie (Yeik) Devitt, arguably the best female wrestler not just locally but in the state when she was competing for Olympic High School, highlights a class of 11 individuals and two teams – 1948 Bainbridge High School Boys basketball and 1981 Olympic College softball – that will be inducted along with honorees Barry Janusch, Olympic College athletic director (Rex Brown Distinguished Service Award), Barney McCallum, the pioneer and founder of the growing sport of pickleball (Kitsap Athletic Roundtable Lifetime Achievement Award) and Craig Dean, former soccer referee and baseball coach (Dick Todd Memorial Award). Tickets can be purchased at https://bpt.me/4474502 … Been thinking about the season flop of the Washington Huskies men’s basketball team (12-7, 2-4 Pac-12) and it’s become clear that all the preseason hype was in error. There are a few big reasons for it. One is that as talented as 6-9 freshman forward Jaden McDaniels is he is too immature to make a difference. It may be too that he is playing out of position. He might be more effective playing down low instead of being asked to be a factor on the perimeter. But for whatever reason McDaniels has not lived up to the hype that has him being a top lottery pick in the next NBA draft. Two, is the Huskies are really a one-man offensive squad. That one man is only an 18-year-old man-child, Isaiah Stewart, a 6-9 powerfully built freshman. Stewart is averaging 18 points and nine rebounds and just over two blocks (the Huskies are second in the nation and first in the Pac-12 with 126 blocks), but the Husky offense pretty much stops with him. To be honest, coach Mike Hopkins has really only three guys that deserve to be starters – Stewart, 6-6 junior Nahzaih Carter and 6-3 freshman Marcus Tsohonis, who was redshirting this season until 6-foot sophomore point guard Quade Green was ruled academic ineligible after15 games and Hopkins desperately turned to Tsohonis. It’s tough to find a reason why Tsohonis was redshirting. There had been whispers that he was a star in the making and just needed to play. He’s averaged six points and almost two assists in the five games he has played, but his scoring is not reflective in the way he plays. He plays with poise beyond his years and isn’t afraid to penetrate into the tall trees and score. But beyond these three, the Huskies are in trouble. Hameir Wright, 6-9-junior, who starts is a non-scoring threat who plays decent defense and the fifth starter is McDaniels. After that it’s a mishmash of guys that are inconsistent at best. Jamal Bey, 6-6 sophomore, may be the best of the rest, but still needs time to fully develop. The Huskies would have to pull off a small miracle to get into the post-season. They have 12 games left, all in conference, and there really is not an easy game among them. Even Washington State, usually a patsy, is much better under first-year coach Kyle Smith. The Cougars are 12-7, 3-3, and coming off two stunning victories over Oregon and Oregon State. Washington plays at Washington State on Feb. 9 and hosts the Cougars on Feb. 28. … The two NFL Division championships were a mismatch, and the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs deserve to be in the Super Bowl (Feb. 2, Miami). It should be a barn-burner. The 49ers beat the Chiefs 27-17 in the preseason, scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to come from behind. But I would not put too much credence on that game. Because the 49ers pay defense better and have former Seahawk Sherman Smith taking away half the field at cornerback, the favorite seems to be the 49ers. But only by a small margin.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.