Rainier Beach Coach lauds Montana recruiting class

Seattle Rainier Beach H. S. boys' basketball coach Mike Bethea, whose 29-1 Vikings won the Washington State Boys 3A state championship in March, likes the look of Wayne Tinkle's Montana Grizzly recruiting class of 2008.

Four of Bethea's five starters from his state championship squad have signed letters of intent to play Division I basketball next year. Nyandigisi "Digs" Moikobu, a 6-6 post (who will probably play wing for the Griz) averaged 11 points per game during the season for Rainier Beach.

Moikobu is the third Washington State prep player to commit to Tinkle's Montana program for 2008. Shawn Stockton of Spokane's Ferris H.S., the Washington State 4a champs, signed last fall along with power forward, 6-8 Matthias Ward of Gig Harbor H.S.

Add to that group Anthony Johnson of Tacoma, who played this past year for Yakima Valley Community College, and Tinkle could almost have a complete team of Washington recruits on the floor. Bethea likes the look of Montana's recruiting class, in comments made earlier this week in the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

"With that recruiting class, he (Montana coach Wayne Tinkle) has taken care of a 1, a 3 and a 4," Bethea said. "That's going to be the best class in the Big Sky."

Moikobu's teammate, Ababe Dimisse, has made a commitment to play at Eastern Washington.

You can read the entire story on the Rainier Beach team in this Seattle Post Intelligencer story.