May 31, 2009
Eackles is Seattle bound
The saying "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry..." is fraying at the edges from overuse so we’re instead going with "life is what happens when you are busy making other plans" as our theme here. Despite what certain so-called life coaches purr, circumstances sometimes beyond our control do factor into our lives. It did in a roundabout way with Woodland High’s Adam Eackles and, yes, he is happy about it.
Eackles plays the 1-4 positions
It began with a number of dominoes falling and the end result being the 6-foot-7, 210 pound Eackles becoming Cameron Dollar’s very first recruit at Seattle University.
Here’s what happened: first, Cal Poly’s Kevin Bromley was let go with a year remaining on his contract by the powers-that-be at the San Luis Obispo campus. This after a last-place finish in 2009 for the Mustangs and a 99-145 overall record for Bromley during his tenure.
Despite many names thrown around, Joe Callero was ultimately hired away from Seattle University to head the Mustang men’s basketball program. This took place despite USC Coach Tim Floyd making a special trip up to San Luis Obispo to make the case in person for hiring one of his assistant coaches.
Seattle then reached out across town and brought in Camerson Dollar, the longtime Washington assistant coach, to head up its program.
But how did Eakles gain Dollar’s attention and vice versa? It was another case of who you know and who knows you as Duane Canada, an assistant coach at Yuba College, made the Eackles recommendation to Dollar. Yuba is fairly close by, about 50 miles from Woodland High.
And why did Eackles select Seattle? "I liked Coach Dollar -- he’s a great coach -- and also enjoyed the guys I met who will be my teammates," Eackles explained. "I’ve been to Seattle before and it’s a good town. Plus, I remember some advice I received about choosing a school I would be happy going to even if I became injured and couldn’t play basketball."
San Jose State showed early interest in Eackles, as did Cal Poly. Long Beach State was involved last summer as was the Air Force.
Seattle went 21-8 last season, including victories over WAC member Louisiana Tech, the Big West duo of Cal Poly, UC Irvine, Loyola Marymount of the West Coast Conference, plus Cal State Bakersfield and Eastern Washington. Former Berkeley High guard Shawn Burl just completed his athletic eligibility there and ex-USF big Jared Casey will play in 2009-2010 after redshirting.
The school is in the second year of an NCAA re-classification and the Redhawks have hopes of hooking up with the West Coast Conference or another similar grouping.
Eackles enjoyed a solid senior season for Coach Doug Brian, compiling numbers of 18 points per game, seven boards plus 4 assists a contest. He also blocked 48 shots. Eackles was his team’s most valuable player the last two years and a three-year all-league performer. Woodland is a member of the Tri-County league, along with Natomas, Yuba City, Pioneer, Inderkum and River Valley.
He sees his best attribute as his versatility. "I even played some at point guard this season for Woodland," Eackles said. Seattle is looking at Eakles playing initially at the 3 and 4 spots. "As I mature, I’m hoping to play as a 2 or a 3," he added, "I want to take this as far as possible and would love to be at the point."
Here’s Brian about his graduating senior: "Adam is quite athletic and can play inside and outside. I see him facing the basket more and more in college. As he matures and fills out, he’ll be playing his best basketball when he’s 20 or so." Brian added, "He’s the kind of person you enjoy being around and he also is a good student."
Looking back, what Eackles sees as his biggest change from his high school freshman year -- besides greater maturity -- is "I learned how much I like basketball."
Eackles heads north in late June to begin summer school classes. As for a major, he is thinking about sports medicine or sports journalism. Academics are of no concern as Eackles maintained a grade point average above 3.0 each year in high school.
Elgin Baylor, Eddie Miles, Frank Oleynick, Clint Richardson, Jawann Oldham -- each carved out a place for himself in Seattle University’s storied basketball history. The bar has been set high for Eackles but he wouldn’t have it any other way.