Happy Sunday Cougs! As you know, breaking news in the land of WSU athletics is pretty sparse during the summer months. However, some notable things have taken place in the last couple weeks around Whitman County. Click on the jump for analysis of Ken Bone’s newest recruit and the trials and tribulation of Marshall Lobbestael.
As many of you have probably heard, former Kansas Jayhawks shooting guard Royce Woolridge has chosen to transfer to Washington State following a freshman season in which he received limited playing time. After sitting out the mandatory season per NCAA rules, Woolridge will have three to play three for the Cougars. Additionally, he has signed a financial aid agreement with WSU so he won’t immediately count against the set number of scholarships the basketball team is allowed.
At first glance, Woolridge appears to be a very good “get” for Ken Bone and Co. Coming out of high school, he was ranked the 33rd best shooting guard in the country by ESPN.com. In their most recent evaluation of this six feet two inch Arizona product, ESPN noted “his skills are high level and he has a prolific scoring touch out to the stripe. He is very potent in a catch and shoot situation and he has gotten even better off the dribble.”
Most importantly, Woolridge will serve as an adequate replacement for Faisel Aden after he graduates following this season. With a core backcourt of Reggie Moore, Michael Ladd and Woolridge for the 2012-2013 season, Coach KB will have the athleticism and shooting prowess that can push his squad to the brink of another much-awaited berth in the NCAA Tournament. Judging youtube highlights from his senior year of high school, it appears Woolridge compensates for his limited size with a very quick first step and ridiculous leaping ability. It will be exciting to see if he can develop into the scoring force his dad (Orlando Woolridge) was when he played power forward for the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets in the 80’s and 90’s.
In other not-so-exciting news, Cougfan.com has ramped up their summer content with their annual weekly player diaries that describe how voluntary summer workouts are going. In the past, the diaries have been fairly poorly written and cliched. I can’t count how many times I’d hear various players say “how things are really coming together” before the Cougs plodded through a 10-loss season.
This year, however, there is reason for hope. That’s because much-maligned oft-criticized backup QB Marshall Lobbestael will be writing for Cougfan.com. Lobbestael has been through a lot in his five years on the Palouse. He was cited early in his career for an MIP after embarrassingly passing out drunk in his truck outside the police station. He had a nightmare game against UCLA two years ago where he threw 3 unbelievably terrible interceptions in the first quarter.
By all accounts, Lobbestael is a stand up guy who has rededicated himself to football after his MIP and struggles as the starter. My hope is the adversity he has been through will make him a better candidate for the weekly diary entries we will see throughout the summer. Realistically, his opportunity to write honestly about the program might be the biggest contribution he can make to WSU as long as Jeff Tuel stays healthy.
That’s all I’ve got for today.
Go Cougs!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
