Cat BB lands another good one

[gtapp]

MSU basketball: Bobcats land big man for 2006-07

By JEFF WELSCH Chronicle Sports Editor
For Montana State men's basketball, it's seems to be a case of the rich getting richer.

On the heels of one of its best recruiting springs in recent memory, MSU has already landed a top target for the 2006-07 class.

Travis Derochowski, a mobile 6-foot-9, 240-pound junior forward from tiny Western Mennonite High School in Salem, Ore., recently committed to MSU and plans to sign in November, he confirmed Tuesday night.

"I'm really excited," Derochowski said via telephone from his home in McMinnville.

"Everything they had was perfect for me."

Derochowski, who averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 assists as a junior for the Class 2A school, chose MSU over Utah, Washington, Washington State, San Diego and Pacific.

He said Utah made a late push and some people were encouraging him to pick a school after his senior year. But the lure of MSU's coaching staff, the school's video-production program and world-class fly fishing sold him on Bozeman.

"He's an outdoor guy," his father, Zig Derochowski, said. "He doesn't like the city."

Derochowski, a lifelong competitive swimmer with four siblings, has come late to the basketball scene.

Upon entering high school, he planned to swim at McMinnville High School. But he preferred the smaller Western Mennonite, and he was coaxed by older players at the school to try basketball.

"I had no interest in basketball whatsoever," Derochowski said.

He once devoted two hours a day to swimming. In the last three years, it has been basketball.

This past year, letters have poured in. He said he receives one a day from Washington.

Utah, he said, was upset that he committed to MSU.

"I think he could have had more options," Reggie Guyton, his AAU coach with the Portland Panthers, told OregonPreps.com.

"But he went ahead and committed in his quest to get it over with."

On the night Derochowski committed, Guyton told his father that Utah was putting on the pressure. Wouldn't Travis like to take the weekend to think about it?

"Someone else can have Utah's scholarship," he replied. "I'm a Bobcat."

Derochowski has yet to officially visit, but his family toured Yellowstone National Park two years ago and fell in love with the area.

"I think he'll be excellent there," Guyton said. "He's played three years of basketball total and his upside is tremendous. He plays extremely hard and his work ethic is unparalleled."


Kudos to Durham for going after and landing a player that was wanted badly by some national powerhouses!

[wbtfg]

Durham should take a look at this kid for next year as well.....

Schmidt eyes juco transfer

CASPER, Wyo. - Jake Schmidt, who led Thermopolis to consecutive 3A state championships but played sparingly for Utah last season, is considering playing at the junior college level next year in Wyoming.

Schmidt, a 6-foot-7 freshman, played just 14 minutes in six games for the Utes last year. Two weeks ago, Utah coach Ray Giacoletti announced that Schmidt, Justin Hawkins and Jermaine Calvin would not be brought back next year.

Schmidt said some Wyoming junior college programs are becoming more competitive, and that he might consider a year at the juco level before moving back into NCAA Division I. He said he'd already ruled out moving down to Division II or NAIA.

"Junior college basketball in Wyoming is definitely becoming a real competitive thing," Schmidt said. "Your Casper Colleges and your Sheridan Colleges are right up there with any Western Nebraskas or College of Southern Idahos. They're definitely not out of the picture in any way.

"I'd definitely consider schools like that. It's close to home. Everything plays a part."

Schmidt was an all-state selection at Thermopolis, and led the Bobcats to state titles in 2003 and '04, both over Kemmerer. He had 28 points and 16 rebounds in the '04 title game, which went to overtime before Thermopolis won 70-61.

But he never quite broke through at Utah. Schmidt said he would always appreciate the opportunity to play on a team that reached the NCAA regional semifinals, but said if the coaches weren't going to play him more they should have held him out with a redshirt.

"There was never any talk during the year. But on the flip side, it's become very evident this year that college basketball is a business. For everybody to keep alive, they've got to do what's best for them," Schmidt said. "(The redshirt decision) is a sore spot, for sure, because I basically wasted an entire year. But on the flip side, I got the opportunity to be on a Sweet 16 team. Even though I never played, that's an opportunity that not a lot of kids get."

[mslacat]

The oregon Boards are a little perplexed by Travis's choice to commit so early here is my favorite exchange.

Question:

Question concerning Derochowski
by oregongufan, 4/26/05 17:02 ET
I read on OregonPreps.com that he has decided to go Montana State. It also stated that he had been recruited by Boston College, LoyolaMarymount, and University of San Diego. Why would he choose a Big Sky school over these ACC(soon to join the league) and WCC schools? These colleges also have strong academic standards and the article said he wanted a great education. So why Montana State? He hadn't even visited the Bozeman school yet. USD is a beautiful school and the location of LMU and BC have a great deal to offer. Just questioning his real decision...no other school offered?

Answer:

Actually it is
by Yooperz, 4/27/05 5:59 ET
Re: Question concerning Derochowski by oregongufan, 4/27/05
He's interested in photography and video production. Very few schools have these. To clarify he never said the other schools weren't good academic schools. Perhaps you read more into that than was meant. It really meant they (Montana State) had the program he wanted i.e. video production and photography. He also likes the outdoors and fly fishing that San Diego and the rest cannot offer. Sure they are beautiful places as well but the Madison river has its own calling that those that have fished it can understand. While Travis has not visited he is familiar with the area. His mother lived in Missoula for 5 years and he fly fished Yellowstone two years ago. He fell in love with the whole area. Also, their style of game fits his style best. It's simply a good fit. So in short, his parents and coach had him think about life after basketball. Suggested he find a school that had a degree he was interested in pursuing and also had a basketball program that he could possibly succeed in. He found Montana State. The real kicker is they came calling. He believes it's a God thing. How could he say no when they offered? Who was going to offer him something that fit him better? He didn't think anybody could. As far as your question about the other schools...they were there and things were really starting to heat up. He simply was given the opportunity to have what he wanted...he took it and all of 2A basketball can rejoice that our little unnoticed league with the less than have contributed another player to the D 1 college basketball level.

[Robcat]

Wow, this is the kind of talent and person that makes an alum feel proud to be a part of MSU. I am on cloud nine. Could not be more proud of my old Alma Mater.

[mslacat]

Found this article on the net

Hard work, persistence pays off
Published: May 3, 2005

By ALLEN MOODY
Of the News-Register

Those that think the only way to get a Division I scholarship is to start playing at a young age and play at a 4A high school had better think again. McMinnville's Travis Derochowski shoots down that theory on two counts.

Derochowski verbally committed to Montana State University, becoming the first player from Western Mennonite High School in Salem to get a full-ride scholarship to a Division I school. Not bad for somebody that didn't start playing basketball until high school.

Derochowski was a successful swimmer, but after enrolling at Western Mennonite, he decided to change his priorities.

"Going into my freshman year I had to make a decision between swimming and basketball because their seasons collide," he said. "I had accomplished some things in swimming and wanted a new challenge so I decided to go to basketball."

Success didn't come right away for the 6-foot-9, 240-pound post player, but then again he didn't immediately have the dedication to the sport in the early going either.

"He wasn't real motivated," said his coach at Western Mennonite, Gary Hull. "He was rather lazy and didn't have a real desire to play. He just wasn't very focused."

Even before his game started to improve, Derochowski had some lofty goals.

"I can remember shooting around outside and him telling me he wanted to play Division I ball," said his father Zig Derochowski. "At that time he would trip over the line on the floor. I thought that was a nice dream to have, but it was probably a dream.

"When he started working hard and really committed like he had done in swimming I saw a big difference in his improvement in his game. And last year it was ‘this might happen.' "

The makings of a star

Travis played on the junior varsity team during his freshman season, but when the team qualified for the state tournament in Pendleton, Hull decided to bring him along. The trip to state had a lasting impact on Derochowski, and became the turning point in his play.

"After I went to state that year with the varsity team I feel in love with it and wanted to get better," Travis said. "I saw the players at state and talked to my coach. He spent a lot of time with me after school. I took that serious."

Travis and Hull started working together the Tuesday after the state tournament — and have done so ever since.

"We started this thing about two years and six weeks ago," Hull said. "He's been incredible. Usually after two weeks kids start to come up with excuses, but he was there right on time every day. That's when I knew he was pretty special."

One of the first things the two did was to work on putting a little bulk on Travis, who at the time was about 6-foot-7, 178 pounds.

"He just benched 225 pounds," Hull said. "Two years, six weeks ago he could bench 70 pounds seven times. I still remember that. I wish I would have had a video camera."

Zig said Hull was instrumental in getting Travis motivated and then took the time to work with him on his skills, something that other coaches may not have done.

"When we went to Western Mennonite we didn't realize who they had as a coach," he said. "When Travis decided to get serious we started seeing the value of the coach they have. Gary's knowledge is huge. I'm not sure if he would have had that much individual attention somewhere else."

Travis wasn't content with playing only high school basketball. Hull introduced him to the West Coast All-Stars Basketball camp in 2004 and the colleges began to take notice after he made the camps all-star team.

Still, Travis wanted to do better and wasn't going to let anything stand in his way.

"For the past two years I have watched Travis work hard year-round for a goal that many considered out of a reach," said his mother, Teresa Derochowski. "He has been focused and committed, sacrificing a lot of things many teenagers take for granted.

"I can only think of two times when he thought about quitting and those times were very short-lived. Travis has inspired me in so many ways through his example of being determined and relentlessly chasing after his dreams."

Choosing a school

Travis' play got the attention of colleges, even more so when they realized how short of a time he has been playing the game. Soon, the Derochowski's began to hear from schools that were interested in him and the letters started to roll in.

"When the first one came in I was real excited," Travis said. "I was showing it to my friends, my coach and everybody. As time went on I started getting more of them so it became easier to deal with."

Some pretty big name programs were after Derochowski — University of Utah, University of Washington, Washington State, Boston College, Boise State and University of Minnesota, among others.

When it was all said and done, the Derochowski's heard from 32 Division I schools, including Montana State.

Not only do the Derochowskis believe that it's the best fit for Travis, but the school made the signing of him a priority.

"Montana State didn't just send letters," Zig said. "They were instrumental in creating a relationship with us and Travis. Other schools had to an extent, but not like Montana State. Their coaches really emphasized helping him grow as a player."

Other selling points for Montana State were its film production and photography program, which Travis will major in, not to mention its proximity to Yellowstone National Park and the opportunity for some world-class fly-fishing.

Zig said after studying Montana State, Travis began to get excited about the whole college experience, not just basketball, and that's when they knew it was the right place to go.

One more year before college

Travis will spend some time playing with the AAU Portland Panthers, where he's the only Class 2A player on the team, before his final year at Western Mennonite, but he plans to leave the Pioneers on a high note.

"My No. 1 goal is to get our team to win the state championship," he said. "We've never had a state championship."

He's hopeful that choosing a college now will allow him to relax a bit more during his senior season.

"I'm really focused on the team right now," he said. "I'll be able to have more fun my senior year and help the other players on the team get better. I'll share everything I can with them."

Hull would probably be happiest if Travis was able to share his dedication and passion for excellence, but then again he realizes that not many kids are willing to put in the time and the effort that Travis has to make himself a better player.

"When we first started this thing I said ‘let's see where it takes us,' " Hull said. "It's been a great thing. He's been very determined and very focused and he's earned every bit of this. I can't say how proud I am of him."