Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Odds are set at 3:1 that Kyle Coston earns a technical foul in Ogden

After doing some preliminary research on the subject, the evidence is in. Junior forward Kyle Coston , a man with many talents, is the most likely player at the Big Sky Tournament to earn himself a technical foul.

Coston, a junior lefty with a strong outside shooting touch, is leading the team in fouls heading into the Big Sky Tourney. This comes despite Coston often being handed the least physical of the opposition's front-line players, with either Jamie Jones or Julius Thomas typically defending the bigger and better opposing post.

Kyle also leads the team in technical fouls--he has earned two in the past four games. Now, certainly he isn't approaching Rasheed-level status but a closer look and a trip down memory lane demonstrates that if the Big Sky Tournament had some prop bets for the action in Ogden, put your money on a Coston infraction.

He may have only technically (ha, ha) earned two technical fouls but fans of the Vikings will remember a few other points of evidence that could work against the Southpaw.

1- Coston and Portland forward Robin Smeulders tangle underneath the hoop in the Vikings Stott Center opener. No technicals are assessed but there was certainly some extracurricular activity, if you know what I'm saying.

2- Coston and Seattle Redhawks' Austen Powers and Mike Boxley get tangled up on several occasions. Again, no whistle but there could have been.

3- The Vikings and Idaho State scuffle on the way to the locker rooms at the end of the first half at the Stott Center. Surely, Coston isn't solely responsible for the altercation but he was definitely there and definitely involved.

4- Chris Kaba of Northern Colorado and Coston go nose to nose after a physical play in the second half. Finally some game control by the zebras, as both are assessed T's.

5- The great dunker that he is, Coston is whistled for dunking during warmups of the Eastern Washington game. Not necessarily a fight but you can label it in the bonehead category.

Now, what do all of these bodies of evidence tell us? I don't think they say that Coston is a dirty player or that he is cheap or anything like that. I think these pieces of evidence and my own personal knowledge of Coston indicate more than anything, that he is a maturing young man and he still has some growth left in him in that sense.

Sometimes he just doesn't make the best decisions on the court, especially when emotions are high.

Now, on to the readings of the week-
Jim Moore of the Seattle PI has a good story about a former high-school and college star who suddenly was diagnosed with cancer.

The annoying logos that the NCAA had previously used on all their NCAA Tournament courts are going by the way side because players were slipping all over them.


No that it matters really but CollegeRpi has the following from the Big Sky Teams
Weber State: 95
Portland State: 119
Montana: 164
Idaho State: 201
Northern Colorado: 261

Montana State: 242

Eastern Washington: 237
Northern Arizona: 295
Sacramento State: 341 (of 344 teams)

Joe Lunardi has the Wildcats advancing from the Big Sky Championships and drawing a No. 14 seed. He also said PSU would get no worse than a No. 15 seed last year so take it for what its worth.

Anyways make sure to stay tuned- The Stumptown Sports Hook is headed to Ogden next week!

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