Center of Contention Rules March Madness!
Mar. 18—Lapwai's Titus Yearout and Clarkston's Reese de Groot spent their high school years patrolling the hardwoods of north Idaho and eastern Washington. Now, they each have a front row seat to two of the best stories of March Madness as members of the tourney-bound Idaho Vandals.
For the first time in school history, the Idaho men's and women's basketball programs are playing in the NCAA Tournament in the same season. The 15th-seeded Vandal men play second-seeded Houston at 7:10 p. m.
Pacific (TRUTV) on Thursday in Oklahoma City. The next day and 30 minutes down the road, the 13th-seeded Idaho women play at No. 4 Oklahoma at 7 p.
m. Pacific on Friday (ESPN) in Norman, Okla. Neither local prep alum will see the floor for their respective Vandal basketball squad — Yearout, a junior guard, is recovering from offseason surgery on his right hip labrum and de Groot, a freshman forward, is redshirting.
For de Groot, who played at Lewiston High School before transferring to Clarkston, the chance to be a part of a high-level college basketball program 30 minutes from her home means a lot. "I never thought that I would get an opportunity like this," de Groot said during the Vandals' Selection Sunday event in Moscow. "Even as a redshirt, it'll still be so much fun to support our team and what we've built, and it's great to see the process of going from the beginning of the season and now we're going to March Madness to end it.
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