Get your “Bone the Dawgs” tees while you can, as it is all over now. I guess you saw this coming when Stew Morrill and Mike Davis pulled out early Monday AM, but the leader on day one of the search has prevailed. Per Vince Grippi, WSU has hired Ken Bone as their next head hoops coach, replacing the forked-tongue serpent who slithered off to Virginia, free to toil in the nether regions of the ACC basement (just kidding….kinda).
BH will give his detailed hoops thoughts on this hire in the coming days, and what it means for today AND tomorrow. But as someone who has heard Ken Bone on the KJR airwaves several times the last few years, I can’t help but be enthusiastic over this hire. KJR’s Ian Furness has had him on his show a few times, and the last time he had him on was right before March Madness. After the interview, Furness said “I will tell you what – IF Tony Bennett leaves WSU, Ken Bone is THE GUY for the Cougs!”
Bone is well respected on many levels, and you rarely – if EVER – hear anything negative about the guy. And oh yeah, he wins. Everywhere he’s been. PERIOD.
*77-49 in four years at PSU, including two tourney appearances the last two seasons.
*253-97 in 12 seasons at SPU.
*Combined record at both schools = 330-146
Sounds good to me. But there are questions, as always.
1) Can he recruit the Seattle-area talent, a region full of D-1 players every single year? The same Seattle area that hasn’t been plentiful under the Bennett regime?
2) What happens with Bone’s approach with this roster? How much will he tweak things for a bunch of kids recruited into Bennett Ball into his vision? He is regarded a bit as a guy who has coached different styles, but will it be a bunch of 44-40 type scores, or will he rev things up? Does he have a true commitment to the defensive end, or will he try and make these kids run?
3) How about the assistants? Sanchez is likely gone to UVA, but what about Ben Johnson or Matt Woodley? And who will Bone take with him from the PSU bench?
4) And maybe the most pressing issue of all – can he keep the current young players happy while also reel in the recruits who have already inked their letters of intent (Thames anyone?)?
It is going to be awfully interesting to see what happens. But all I know is I really, really like this move! Compared to the other candidates reported in the media, he was the right choice all along.
WELCOME KEN BONE, and GO COUGS!
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