So in the furor over the Apple Cup sellout, what better time to divert our attention to the new hoops coach?? Timing is everything, right??
Seriously, while football is on the brain at the moment, our own Kaddy took time out from his busy schedule to press the flesh with the new guy, Ken Bone, earlier in the week. Check it out (and as always Kaddy, THANK YOU!):
I had the opportunity to attend the Portland Trailblazer game for WSU Alumni night on Monday, 4/13. The Blazers were playing the OKC Thunder, and luckily Kyle Weaver had been called back up, so us Cougs could watch him play (he played like crap, by the way…oh well.)
There was a social gathering before the game where Cougar fans had a chance to speak with Jim Sterk and meet our new b-ball coach, Ken Bone.
The first thing that came to mind when I saw Ken was that this guy is really tall! He had to be at least 6-6, maybe 6-8 The other thing I thought when I met him was that he looked tired. When I asked him how crazy the last week had been, he held up his PDA and said "this thing hasn’t stopped." His phone was constantly ringing from calls and buzzing from e-mails. Welcome to the Pac-10, Coach.
The most refreshing thing I noticed about CKB is that he flipped the switch and turned it on when he spoke to the room. He was funny, comfortable, and a very genuine speaker. He talked about his pending move from Vancouver to Pullman, and said that yes, he was actually looking forward to the move (few chuckles from the crowd). He also said that his 10-year old daughter was fired up to move there, and asked if he would take her fishing. However, his 14 and 16 year old girls didn’t quite have the same level of enthusiasm, but Coach was quick to note that he had been recruiting kids his whole life, and he was 100% sure they would come around.
Coach also fielded some questions from the audience, and did a good job. One question was regarding the current players, and did he think any of them consider leaving, mostly Klay Thompson. Coach said he and Klay sat down and spoke for about 40 minutes in his office, or rather, Coach spoke, since Klay doesn’t talk much, and he left feeling very good about the future of the program.
The next question was about the recruits. Thames hadn’t yet recommitted, although he would later that evening, and Coach said he felt very good about that possibility. He and Johnson were headed to Australia for a quick 24-hour trip there to meet with Motum and his parents. Bone also spoke about the reason for Chadwick’s release…I guess it was ultimately up to him. Coach said that the only reason Chadwick considered WSU was because of his parents’ relationship with Tony. Chadwick’s dad was the pastor in the church Tony attended, and his dad wanted him to go to WSU to be under the guidance of Tony. So, with Tony gone, they felt comfortable in giving the release.
Another question came from a guy in the crowd, and he asked how involved Bone was in recruiting Brockman to uw. The guy said he heard that WSU might have had a chance at him, had Bone not been involved. Coach said he was very involved, but the biggest factor was that Bone’s older brother was Brockman’s coach in high school, so that really gave them the leg up (pun intended).
All in all – I was impressed. It’s hard to compare anyone to Tony, because he breathes charisma, and not many people have that ability. That said, I think our basketball program is in good hands, and we should all look forward to the future.
Go Cougs!
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