Hello Cougar Nation! Sorry for the late post tonight, but I spent most of this beautiful day here on the Palouse watching the Cougars lose a heartbreaking game 6-5 to the University of Washington while simultaneously trying to study for FOUR finals this week. For a recap of the whole series, shoot over to the Daily Evergreen’s online sports section for the best WSU baseball coverage in all of Whitman County.
Right now is a pretty slow time of the year for WSU athletics since basketball coaches are working with players on fundamentals and football players have nothing the next few weeks besides their workouts. However, it is never too early to see what’s in store for next basketball season. Click on the jump to read an updated column I wrote last week for the Daily Evergreen, plus a few other musings that could never make it to the presses.
With the recent departure of Klay Thompson (cq) and DeAngelo Casto from the WSU basketball program, casual college basketball fans have already deemed 2011 a “rebuilding year” for Head Coach Ken Bone. (cq)
In the words of Lee Corso, not so fast my friend.
Undoubtedly, the Cougars won’t be able to rely on Thompson’s explosive offense and Casto’s defensive presence and rebounding in 2011.
In crunch time, players won’t have the opportunity to stand and watch while Thompson takes the last shot of the game. Rebounding against the conference’s bigger lineups will be tougher.
But before heading to Palouse Falls to jump off the nearest cliff, remind yourself Ken Bone has developed a program with solid depth in three years at WSU. With another offseason of nifty recruiting and players learning Bone’s system, the Cougars will be respectable in 2011.
They might even have the talent to compete for an NCAA Tournament berth.
Now, before you throw down the paper and label me the biggest homer in all Whitman County, (as many people already have) take the following things into consideration.
Reggie Moore, when healthy, can be an all-conference performer. With a wrist injury and arrest for marijuana possession, he fell into a puzzling sophomore slump. He regressed in nearly every major statistic, dropping from 12 to 9 ppg.
Moore wasn’t aggressive enough offensively and defenses began to catch on to his up-fake-first, then lean in jumper. In games Thompson controlled offensively, Moore would disappear for long stretches.
For WSU to have any sort of success next year, Moore will need establish himself as a dynamic shoot-first-ask-questions-later point guard capable of controlling a game’s tempo. Think Aaron Brooks during his best playing days at the University of Oregon. If Moore improves his 12 points and 4 assists per game average in his freshman season, WSU can finish in the top half of the conference.
And one more thing Reggie. Please lay off the herb this offseason. If you haven’t noticed, the Pullman PD aren’t college basketball fans. Few guys have the ability to totally make their defender look foolish night in and night out. Don’t take that for granted!
Also, the surprising depth WSU will feature on the wings should cushion Thompson’s departure. Seniors-to-be Faisal Aden (cq) and Marcus Capers (cq) plan to battle it out for starting jobs with Dexter Kernich-Drew (cq), Fresno State transfer Mychal Ladd (cq), and highly touted freshman Devonte Lacy (cq).
While Capers is an admirable role player, expecting more than a few rim rattling jams per game from him is unrealistic. When he first arrived on the Palouse, I thought perhaps he could develop a solid mid-range game like Kyle Weaver did when he was an upper classmen. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out that way yet for Capers. It would suit him best this offseason to work on a dribble penetration move that could allow him to consistently finish at the rim.
Aden certainly has the tools to lead the team in scoring next year, but he will need to display better shot selection and the ability to produce in the closing minutes of games. Without getting too nitpicky, his offball defensive awareness could use a little work too. Maybe I’m just weird, but seeing Aden come from the weakside and take a charge against an out-of-control Reeves Nelson would make my year.
Lacy and Kernich-Drew remain the biggest wildcards. While both are inexperienced, each has the opportunity to make an immediate impact. Kernich-Drew’s athletic ability is explosive and Lacy is ranked by ESPN as the 36th best shooting guard in the nation. Kernich-Drew also has a sweet jumper that could light up zone defenses in 2011.
Ladd averaged 10 points a game and shot 39% from behind the arc in his one season at Fresno State as well. If his offensive skills can translate from the WAC to the Pac-12, the Cougars will feature one of the better offenses in the league.
In the frontcourt, D.J. Shelton (cq) and Greg Sequele (cq) are WSU’s best options to replace Casto. Both incoming junior college transfers are raw, athletic and might be forced to play immediately once they step foot in Pullman. ESPN hasn’t evaluated Shelton, but his youtube highlight video is ridiculously impressive.
If they struggle, however, Brock Motum and Abe Lodwick have the ability to ease their transition to the next level.
Many questions remain unanswered heading into WSU basketball’s offseason. However, with Bone’s steady leadership, don’t be surprised if 2011 exceeds everyone’s expectations.
Sidenotes:
-Congratulations to Zack Williams for being selected 203rd overall by the Carolina Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft. During his time at WSU, Williams faced much criticism for low Shotgun snaps that often times threw off Jeff Tuel’s timing with his receivers. Despite those struggles, Williams was undoubtedly the team’s best blocking offensive linemen. To his credit, he played through much of the season with a broken hand. Taylor Meighen and Andrew Roxas will compete in Fall Camp to replace Williams at center.
-Throughout much of Spring Camp, C.J. Mizell has been running with the 2’s because of his inability to bring a consistent effort day in and day out. Thus, in a recent depth chart released by the football program, Mizell was listed as the back-up to Mike Ledgerwood. Now, without bashing too much on Ledgerwood, lets just say the prospect of him starting over Mizell next year is about as high as Marshall Lobbestael beating out Jeff Tuel at QB. Last year, Ledgerwood consistently took poor angles and missed a lot of tackles. There is just no way, in my mind, they will be able to play him in front of a playmaker like Mizell.
-While much positivity has reigned down through Cougar nation following an impressive Spring Game, my biggest concern heading into next year lies in the team’s ability to stop anyone on defense. And while it appears we have playmakers like Deonne Bucannon and Travis Long to harass opponents, I’m not sold yet on the ability of Jody Sears and Chris Ball to create a defensive scheme that shuts down Pac-12 offenses. My hope is that we finally ditch the Cover 4, bring pressure consistently from the outside with Hoffman-Ellis and Kaufusi and just generally play with a level of intensity we haven’t seen yet in Paul Wulff’s tenure.
-If you didn’t notice, the 2011 Seattle Mariners are teetering frighteningly close to being a respectable ballclub. They recently won five out of six games in Detroit and Boston on their roadtrip. With Smoak emerging as reliable middle of the order bat and Pineda continuing to mystify other teams, we might actually be in for an interesting summer in the Northwest. My vote for 2011 Manager of The Year goes to Eric Wedge’s ridiculously badass hybrid Fu Manchu mustache.
That’s all I’ve got for you today.
Go Cougs!
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