Not quite sure what to think about WSU men's hoops victory last night over a very good-shooting Winthrop team. The final was 92-86. Somehow the Cougs turned a blowout into a close game. It's always nice to get a win, but the way Wazzu played in the second half won't earn them many W's in conference play. Here's some thoughts about what they did well and not-so-well:
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WSU shot 55.6% from behind the arc. Good.
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WSU allowed Winthrop to shoot 53.3% from behind the arc. Not good.
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WSU led by 19 points at the half. Good.
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WSU was outscored 58-45 in the second half. Not good.
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WSU offense posted 92-points on the scoreboard. Good.
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WSU defense gave up 86-points. Not good.
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WSU reverted to their form of last season by turning the ball over 16 times. Not good.
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WSU out-rebounded their opponent 36-29. Good.
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Here's how ESPN summarized the game:
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/recap/_/gameId/401373018 -
Jeff Nusser offered a much more detailed account of the action on Friel Court:
https://www.cougcenter.com/wsu-cougars-basketball/2021/11/22/22798044/wsu-cougars-vs-winthrop-eagles-final-score-recap -
Jamey Vinnick included three obvious takeaways from the Cougar win:
https://247sports.com/college/washington-state/Article/Kyle-Smith-after-WSU-win-Winthrop-exposed-some-things-but-were-5-0-176063631/ -
Another Apple Cup preview from CFC.com features some sage commentary from Will Derting. Though his comments might seem obvious, they are areas that never seemed to be on Coach Mike Leach's radar.
https://247sports.com/college/washington-state/Article/Washington-State-football-vs-Washington-The-Early-Glimpse-with-Will-Derting-176007300/ -
Colton Clark offers some interesting thoughts leading into Apple Cup play. He makes a very solid case for 1-point favored Wazzu will win this one.
https://247sports.com/college/washington-state/Article/Washington-State-football-vs-Washington-The-Early-Glimpse-with-Will-Derting-176007300/
Go Cougs!!!
- It seems fitting to put together a list of coaches who branch off of the Mike Leach coaching tree. Perspective on his football genius can easily be determined by a cursory glance:
Dave Aranda/Baylor head coach – Graduate assistant coach under Leach from 2000-02 at Texas Tech
Neal Brown/West Virginia head coach – Played under Leach in 1998 when Leach was offensive coordinator at Kentucky
Sonny Cumbie/Louisiana Tech head coach – Played under Leach at Texas Tech from 2000-03 and later served as a graduate assistant coach under Leach
Sonny Dykes/TCU head coach – Coached wide receivers and later was the co-offensive coordinator at Texas Tech under Leach from 2000-06
Josh Heupel/Tennessee head coach – Played under Leach at Oklahoma in 1999 when Leach was the offensive coordinator for the Sooners
Dana Holgorsen/Houston head coach – Coached alongside Leach as assistants at Valdosta State from 1993-95, then served as a wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator under Leach from ...
- The news of former WSU Coach Mike Leach passing at the young age of 61 is very, very sad. I had the pleasure of writing about the Cougs when Leach was at the helm. To say that he was a unique person doesn't begin to describe the multi-faceted dimension of the man.
In terms of coaching football, Leach led his teams in a way that had most other coaches scratching their heads. His offensive creativity gave a multitude of defensive coordinators ulcers. To say that his techniques for molding student-athletes into football players were unusual would be accurate. Making guys run sprints in a sand pit named "Leach Beach" is a prime example. Crazy as that sounds, his players had fewer ankle injuries over the course of the season than any team in football. Only Mike Leach could get players to hit the beach. And if you look at the coaching tree that branches out from Leach, you'd find a myriad of men who owe him for their start in the profession.
When you examine the way Leach represented the schools ...
- Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, so Wazzu's loss yesterday to UNLV by a score of 74-70 was just that, a loss. However, there were plenty of reasons to applaud both the performance and the progress the Cougs are making over the past few games. Let's get the bad observation out of the way. WSU turned the ball over a ridiculous 22 times. No one is going to beat many teams with such wreckless play, especially against a team that posted a 9-0 record going into the contest. Some of those errors might be attributed to Coach Kyle Smith going with a different lineup almost every game because of player injuries. Facts are facts and when there isn't a steady lineup, players struggle to play team ball. On the bright side, Wazzu shot a respectable 54.2% from the field, coupled with a very nice 56.5% from behind the arc. On defense, WSU held UNLV to just 30.4% from behind the arc and 50.9% overall. The Cougs outrebounded the Rebels by a margin of 33-20. Despite being down by ...
