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WSU volleyball came oh so close to advancing in the NCAA tournament. Though the Cougs fell to the fifth-seeded Baylor three sets to nil, every set was close (27-25, 25-21 & 25-20). In the end, the match came down to Wazzu's lack of accuracy. They hit a low percentage of shots, only .167 in play. At this level, teams rarely win matches with that sort of struggle keeping balls in play. For more info on the game, here's your link:
https://wsucougars.com/news/2021/12/3/volleyballs-road-ends-in-waco.aspx -
WSU men's hoops will return to the hardwood today when they host #20 USC at 6pm on Friel Court in Beasley Coliseum. You can watch or record the game telecast on Pac-12 Network-Washington. The Trojans have dominated the Cougs recently, winning the last ten meetings by an average of 13-points.
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Cougfan.com managing editor Barry Bolton checked in with some smart analysis of the formal introduction ceremony of new WSU head football coach Jake Dickert:
https://247sports.com/college/washington-state/Article/3-striking-takeaways-from-Jake-Dickerts-introduction-as-WSU-football-coach-177165504/ -
For the nuts-and-bolts details of the coronation of Jake Dickert, Jamey Vinnick has some nice notes:
https://247sports.com/college/washington-state/Article/Jake-Dickert-Love-and-cheer-flow-as-formally-debuts-as-WSU-head-football-coach-177112762/ -
One of Coach Dickert's first hires is a coaching colleague from Wyoming, Pete Kaligis. Kaligis will bring a wealth of defensive line coaching experience to Pullman. Here's a story related:
https://trib.com/sports/wyoming-cowboys-losing-defensive-line-coach-pete-kaligis-to-washington-state/article_fff6f855-beac-590e-ad6f-562dc3b0f2d0.html -
Another Dickert hiring in the offing looks to be a new defensive coordinator. He is likely to tap Nevada's DC, Brian Ward, to keep Cougar defense playing inspiring defense. The connection here is Ward, 48, previously coached defensive backs with new WSU head coach Jake Dickert at North Dakota State in 2010. When he was on the staff at Syracuse, Ward guided the defense for a team that upset No. 2 Clemson in 2017 and finished No. 14 in the nation in 2018 (10-3) with a win over No. 15 West Virginia in the 2018 Camping World Bowl. Stay tuned for an official announcement.
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OK. Now I'm really getting concerned about the hiring of Jake Dickert. For the second time in less than a decade, WSU-hater John Blanchette has penned a positive story about the Cougs.
https://www.nbcrightnow.com/sports/washington_state_university/john-blanchette-dickert-hits-all-the-perfect-notes-during-reintroduction-introduction/article_5c5af043-aeb7-5d25-80bc-d03c1c6e5457.html -
If you're interested, here's an update on guys planning to leave Pullman via the transfer portal:
https://247sports.com/college/washington-state/Article/WSU-football-transfer-portal-humming-with-Woodinvilles-Cade-Beresford-latest-entry-176976880/
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 ...
