Happy Saturday Cougs! Yesterday was quite a day, no? I had to weigh in on the Klay Thompson situation, but stick around for the end of the post too. The first spring football depth chart is out!
I was in a lengthy meeting at work yesterday and when we took a break, my Blackberry told me I had 13 new emails that had come in over the span of a couple hours. As popular as I am, this never happens to me unless something especially newsworthy is happening. Well, yesterday was especially newsworthy for the Cougar faithful. My relationship with the basketball team continues to be a very precarious one. Last week in this space, I was generously giving them the benefit of the doubt and trying to strip them of the underachiever label. They kindly rewarded me by marching into (Insert Corporate Sponsor) Hec Ed and thoroughly beating the Dogs right in front of the wannabe Cameron Crazies (Seriously Husky students, Duke called, they want…..well everything back). Cut to Thursday when, for the first time in months, the Cougs backed up a great performance with another good one. It seemed like a good one, anyway from what I could tell following the game on my phone. Much to my surprise, I went to bed on Thursday night with Washington State back in the NCAA tournament bubble discussion. Then it happened. I woke up as I always do to the sound of Coldplay and as I typically do, I scrolled through my overnight junk email and Facebook updates on the off chance that there would be something worth reading. Lo and behold there was an email from this website’s very own LucasCoug with the subject line “Klay”. By now, we all know what news was in that email. For my half hour commute, Klay Thompson’s arrest was essentially all I thought about. Knowing that I would be posting this morning, I thought about it more and more. I knew that upwards of zero people would be waiting for me to weigh in with my take on the matter so I thought some more. Then a funny thing happened. As young people are wont to (or in my case relatively young people), I met up with some friends last night and had some adult beverages. It was a long week for me and a good time was well deserved as far as I’m concerned. I had a blast and when it was done I walked home and fell asleep. You’ll notice that nowhere in this brief story did I make mention of getting arrested, but I did have a great time and I did allow the stress of a long week to disappear. After all the thinking I did to formulate an opinion on Klay Thompson’s arrest, my night out confirmed my gut reaction. Getting arrested in possession of marijuana is monumentally stupid.
One of my least favorite things about sports is when sportswriters inevitably make the steady climb up Mount Pious to say how shameful it is for athletes to misbehave. While I may not be a sportswriter, I do write about sports and I don’t want to fall into that “Holier Than Thou” trap, but I kind of understand it now because I feel let down. In and of itself, I take no issue with Klay’s “crime”. I went to college so I fully understand what it’s like to make some questionable decisions. A lot has been said about the Pullman PD and that they are out to get college kids. I don’t subscribe to this theory whatsoever for one simple reason: Not getting arrested is one of the easiest things in the world to do. There is another huge issue that factors into this particular scenario. We aren’t talking about the arrest of Joe College Student here. We’re talking about the arrest of a Wooden Award candidate. Klay Thompson is, for lack of a better word, famous. For that reason, his citation became a national story. (On the plus side, I guess it’s good that we have a player who is worthy of a national story. Go Cougs!) Fair or unfair, Klay has ended up in a position that warrants being held to a higher standard. He is a college student and a 20 year old and as such has every right in the world to act like one, but his “fame” means he has an obligation to be a better decision maker than the other thousands of college students with whom he shares a campus. If he wants to smoke weed or hang out with people who smoke weed, that is his prerogative. At some point, though, there has to be a level of self-awareness to think, “If I get in my car right now – the one with the tail light out – I am putting a whole lot at risk for myself and my teammates”. It’s the fundamental inability to think this way that baffles me about high profile people. Klay Thompson, or any other star athlete, certainly didn’t sign up to be held to a higher standard, but they have to be aware that they are. There is too much at stake to not realize that. By “at stake” I don’t mean a game against UCLA or an NCAA tournament berth. Those were certainly jeopardized by what happened Thursday night, but in the big picture aren’t vital. At stake in the context of a college athlete, especially a superstar, is a future. Why is there a willingness to risk that for a good time? That’s something I’ll simply never understand.
So where do we go from here? For me, I got my rant out and feel much better. I’m fully prepared now for the redemption story. I might become an even bigger Klay Thompson fan on the heels of this. If he responds to this adversity positively, he’ll be embraced by the Cougar Nation without question. If the rest of the team walks on to Friel Court later today and wins without him, it’ll be one of the great wins that I can remember. I’m not willing to rule that out, but let’s just say I’m not optimistic. One thing is clear. This team needs to figure out a better way to unwind. What’s wrong with Busch Light, fellas? It works for everyone else. Just stay out of the car.
Who is ready for some good news? Spring football couldn’t be coming at a better time. With Rogers Field about to be bustling with activity, the first spring football depth charthas been released! Thanks to our friends over at Cougfan for publishing it. There aren’t a ton of surprises here. If you’ve been reading the position previews from the other dudes on this site, you’re well versed at this point. That said, there are a couple noteworthy items from what I can see:
Brandon Rankin is listed at defensive tackle. I think a lot of us were hoping to see him move to the end and return to his JC sack-master ways. At least initially it appears that won’t be the case. He’s now listed at 281 pounds and should be able to hold up better inside. I’d still like to see him slide outside occasionally, like he did with great success in a 3-4 look against Oregon State.
David Gonzalez is the starting left tackle. While this isn’t a huge surprise since Gonzalez played left tackle prior to his injury last season, my guess was that we’d see John Fullington listed in this spot. Having two viable left tackles is a pretty good problem to have folks.
How about the linebacking corps? Kaufusi at SAM, Mizell at the MIKE and Hoffman-Ellis at WILL? Yes please! I like seeing Kaufusi listed as a starter. I might have to grow out my hair to celebrated. Incidentally, Louis Bland is listed, but as the third string WILL linebacker behind Darren Markle. Plenty of questions to be answered there, obviously.
Look at those receivers! Wilson, Ratliff, Barton, Simone, Bontemps, Bomber, Eaddy, Karstetter, Williams, Myers. I’m giddy.
Logwone Mitz, starting running back has a nice ring to it.
Coach Wulff himself said that the first spring depth chart doesn’t mean a whole lot at this point, but it sure is exciting to see. There are a lot of qulity athletes listed on that chart at every position, folks. Get excited. Football is coming, my friends.
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