Two of the best high school basketball players in the nation have decided to play a little football this season.
Kentwood big man Joshua Smith and Garfield guard Tony Wroten Jr. weren't on hand for the first turnouts as practices opened across the state last week. They were both in New York for the Elite 24 Classic.
Smith, at 6-foot-10, 280 pounds, is regarded as a Top 10 talent in the senior class nationally by MaxPreps. He is expected to play on the offensive line.
Joshua Smith, Kentwood
Photo by Jeff Faddis
"He's an optical illusion," Kentwood coach Rex Norris told the Seattle Times. "You don't see 6-10 football players running around."
Smith played tight end as an eighth grader, his last season in organized football.
Wroten, a 6-5, 200-pound junior, is ranked No. 13 in the class of 2011 by MaxPreps. He was widely regarded as the No. 1 player in his class regardless of position when he was a freshman and a sophomore.
His father, Tony Wroten Sr., played football at the University of Washington.
"He's been wanting to play. He finally broke daddy down," his mom, Shirley Wroten, told the Times.
Wroten is expected to play receiver and defensive back.
The two players could face each other on the basketball court. Garfield and Kentwood are working on arranging a game that would be televised on ESPN, the Times reported.
Football: Iona Happy to be a Beaver
Bethel's Happy Iona, a 6-3, 285-pound defensive end, committed to Oregon State last week.
“He’s extremely athletic for being 285 pounds,” Bethel coach Gavin Kralik told the Tacoma News Tribune. “He runs very, very well. He’s very good at being a run stuffer and a pass rusher.”
Football: Lynden's Bomber commits to WSU
Lynden's Blair Bomber has committed to play football at Washington State. He is the fourth player in as many years from Whatcom County to commit to the Cougars. Bomber, who will play slot receiver, is expected to redshirt next year.
"I'd gotten some letters from WSU, but I always thought it would just turn out to be something that I could show my kids some day," Bomber told the Bellingham Herald. "I thought I would end up somewhere else. It just happened to work out really well. When they made me that offer, I was just so happy."
Bomber was an All-Northwest Conference selection last season on both sides of the ball. He had 72 catches for 998 yards and scored 20 total touchdowns.
Volleyball: Sixkiller coaching at Pasco
Kylee Sixkiller, cousin of famed University of Washington quarterback Sonny Sixkiller, has been hired to coach volleyball at Pasco High. She coached at Davis of Yakima the previous five years and was 15-50 in league play.
