Darrell Moody: Oliver set for Nevada departure?

It appears Cameron Oliver is on the verge of giving up his college career by signing with an agent.

I disagree with the decision. I think another year of playing for coach Eric Musselman would do him and the Nevada program a world of good.

Two months ago, he was a late first-round pick, according to Land of 10, a recruiting/draft website. Going in the first round gives you guaranteed money for two years. Going in the second round gets you zip unless you make the final roster.

Two scouting services have him going 42nd to Utah (NBADraft.net) and another has him going 47th to Milwaukee (Draft Express). He’s being projected as a power forward.

It certainly is a risk. No doubt if Oliver doesn’t make an NBA roster next year, he almost certainly would find himself either in the D-League or playing in Europe.

Oliver has plenty going for him. He’s unselfish, has a plus offensive game and was a good shot blocker in college.

I had three NBA scouts tell me this year they didn’t like the fact Oliver didn’t play with a lot of effort night in and night out, though. I can see their concerns, because there were some games this year where Cam just didn’t seem to care.

When he was good, he was very good. He was God-like in the regular-season finale against Colorado State.

My biggest concern is consistency of effort and on-the-ball defense. He will be going against players as highly skilled, if not more, than him.

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It was nice to see Paul Carter land on his feet after finishing up a two-year stint as a grad assistant for the Dordt College football team.

Carter was named Duluth High’s new defensive coordinator recently, and he has been on the job for about three weeks. Spring practice at Duluth starts May 3, and Duluth will play a spring game against Northview High on May 19.

“We are excited that Paul has joined our football program,” head coach Robert Swank said. “He was very proactive in pursuing the position. Several of his references reached out to me to recommend him for the position. Everybody that called spoke highly of him as a coach and a person.

“I was on a weekend trip in Chicago with my family having dinner when the wide receiver coach called from Memphis (about Paul). That was probably the tipping point that indicated that I had at least better interview this guy. We had a good phone interview.”

And lastly, E.J. Hill, a Duluth grad, played at Dordt and gave Carter a ringing endorsement.

“E.J. claimed that coach Carter was one of the main reasons that their program had seen an increase in success over the past season,” Swank said.

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Clinton Vondrak, Carson High and University of Nevada grad, has been promoted to the Pacific Coast League.

Vondrak is one of eight new umpires in the PCL this year. During the winter, he said he was first on the call-up list to the PCL.

Vondrak was a fixture in the area, officiating high school baseball and basketball games while he was in college. He also worked in the Scenic West, officiating Western Nevada games.

He’s the second Carson City resident on the PCL staff, joining 32-year-old Nate White.