Karl-less Stampede roll to win
Idaho Stampede’s Luke Jackson slams home two points Friday night against the Colorado 14ers at Qwest Arena in downtown BoiseMike Vogt/IPT
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wlove@idahopress.com
Saturday, January 24th, 2009
BOISE — Oh, the fun of having a successful team in the NBA D-League. Teams from the NBA and overseas can swoop in at a moments notice and take your best players.
For the second time this month, the Idaho Stampede are dealing with the sudden departure of one of the team's top players. On Jan. 5, it was forward Jermareo Davidson, who is now in the second of two consecutive 10-day contracts with the Golden State Warriors. The latest casualty of success for Idaho is leading scorer Coby Karl.
The 6-foot-5 point guard from Boise State signed a contract for the rest Spain's Club Joventut Bandalona on Friday. The team is a member of the ACB League, Spain's top professional basketball league.
"It's an unbelievable (opportunity)," Stampede head coach Bryan Gates said. "Here's a kid that is going to one of the best teams in the world. His dad (Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl) said it best that it is kind of an honor for them to ask him. It his that kind of situation"
Like the departure of Davidson, the loss of Karl opens up opportunity for someone else on the Stampede.
In the Stampede's 129-111 win over the Colorado 14ers (13-7) on Friday in front of a crowd of 3,061, it was was former backup guard Lanny Smith. In just his second start of the season, the 6-foot-3 rookie from Houston scored 15 points and had six assists in running an Idaho (16-7) offense that shot more than 60 percent from the floor.
"You talk about guys who just show up every day," Gates said. "I got to where I was at just because I kept showing up. Coach (Bobby) Dye makes fun of me saying, 'He just wouldn't go away.' And Lanny Smith just hasn't gone away. He's the engine in this gig."
Before the game, Smith received some advice from center Lance Allred, who two years ago was in a similar situation when he became a starter after Jeff Graves signed with a European team. Allred has been a starter for Idaho since then, except for last spring when he spent time with the Cleveland Cavaliers
"I told Lanny you don't have to get Coby's 18 points," said Allred, who scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds. "You have me, Luke (Jackson) and Dwayne (Jones). You have plenty of guys that can step up on the scoring load. Don't even worry about that, just step up and take care of the ball ... get us into our offense."
The result was an 18-point win and Idaho's second highest point output of the year.
Jackson led Idaho in scoring with a season-high 26 points, while Dwayne Jones had 25 points and 13 rebounds. Both were season highs for Jones, who joined the Stampede on Jan. 15 to replace Davidson on the roster.
Trey Gilder paced Colorado with 27 points.
Petway out
D-League teams typically carry 10 players, but the Stampede had just eight players suit up for Friday's game. Besides Karl's departure, Idaho was also without forward Brent Petway, who suffered a concussion in the Stampede's loss to Albuquerque on Wednesday.
Petway could return to the lineup tonight.
Up next
The Stampede will continue their homestand tonight against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants at Qwest Arena. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
