Turiaf leads decisive win for ”old guys”

The one thing Ronny Turiaf never learned during his four-year stay at Gonzaga University was how to say no to an adoring fan.

That point was driven home one last time at Spokane Falls Community College on Saturday night when the former Bulldogs star hung around for almost 40 minutes following the Barnstormin’ Tour 2005 all-star basketball game to sign autographs and pose for pictures.

The 6-foot-10, 245-pounder, who is expected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, had just scored 36 points to lead his team of senior players from local Division-I universities to a 119-112 win over a team comprised of junior college and high school standouts from the region.

But it was obvious that this night wasn’t about numbers. It was about treating the crowd of almost 2,300 that bought tickets to charitable event to a night of racehorse basketball, complete with an abundance of nifty passes, memorable dunks and no discernable defensive game plan on the part of either team.

“I had a great time,” Turiaf said as the throng of autograph seekers finally began to thin. “I hope the fans liked it. I really enjoyed playing against the young guys and enjoying myself one last time in Spokane.”

Turiaf and fellow GU senior Brian Michaelson were the driving forces behind this year’s Barnstormin’ Tour event, but they certainly weren’t the only providers of entertainment.

The Division-I all stars got 24 points from Washington State’s Thomas Kelati, and 14 each from his former Cougars teammate Jeff Varem and Eastern Washington’s Marc Axton and Khary Nicholas.

Former Gonzaga guard Winston Brooks, a late addition to the D-I roster, added 11 points and put the evening in perspective.

“Technically, it really wasn’t basketball,” said Brooks, who recently resigned as an assistant coach at EWU, “but it was a pretty good show. And that’s what I think most of the people came out to see.”

Along with saying a final farewell to the D-I seniors, many of those in attendance also came to get a first-hand look at Chicago prep standout Jeremy Pargo, who has signed a letter of intent to play for Gonzaga next fall.

The 6-2, 215-poiunder from Robeson High School, showed the kind of unbridled athleticism that had him ranked as one of the top point prospects in the country heading into his senior season, but struggled with his outside shooting.

“I’ll shoot the ball a lot better when I get back here,” said Pargo, who made 11 of 26 basket tries and scored 11 of his 24 points in the final 6 minutes, the last two off a fast-break dunk – the 22nd of the game.

“It was a real fun game,” he added. “I got to meet Ronny, play with Ronny and play against Ronny. Ronny’s a cool guy. He’s a comedian, basically. I had a lot of fun with him.”

The JC/high school all-stars jumped to early leads of 11-4, 16-9 and 20-11 and never really lost touch with the D-I players.

Harry Disy, Turiaf’s cousin and a late addition to the JC/HS roster out of North Idaho College, finished with 20 points and couple of the evening’s most impressive dunks.

Nik Raivio, the younger brother of GU point guard Derek Raivio, finished with 18 points.

“Those young guys want to beat us,” said Turiaf. “They want to go back home and say, ‘Hey, I scored on Ronny Turiaf,’ or ‘I scored on Kelati.’ They came out ready to go, but we had some old dogs on our team.

“It might take us a while to get warmed up, but once we do, we just keep going and never stop.”

Turiaf, who uncharacteristically stepped beyond the 3-point line to launch several of his shots, finished 16 of 30 from the field but missed all five 3-pointers he tried.

When asked if his agent might have suggested he has a future in the NBA as a shooting guard, Turiaf broke into his trademark broad grin and said, “Definitely. You should watch me in practice, I knock those shots down. I don’t know what happened tonight.”

Turiaf and Michaelson, who finished with six points, will play in another Barnstormin’ Tour 2005 game Saturday night at Westview High School in Portland.

They will be the only two Division-I holdovers from the local game, which will donate part of its proceeds to Coaches vs. Cancer. Turiaf and Michaelson will play against a team of high school all-stars from Oregon.