-
Wazzu men's hoops (10-7,3-3 Pac-12), though short-handed, earned a conference win at home yesterday over Cal (9-9,2-5 Pac-12) by a final of 65-57. The game was one of WSU's better team efforts this season. That's what was needed, too. Coach Kyle Smith was without the services of DJ Rodman, Dishon Jackson, and Matt DeWolf. All three contribute valuable minutes in Smith's normal rotation. It's reported that Jackson is probably out for the month with an eye injury. The other two are going through Covid protocol.
The question for the WSU lineup was a simple one. Who would step up to fill in at both ends of the court in the absence of three strong players? Andrej Jakimovski provided to loudest answer by tossing in a season-high 16 points while pulling down seven rebounds. His was a sizzling 4-7 from behind the arc and played smothering defense.
Perhaps the one stat from the game that leaps off the stat sheet was team turnovers. Washington State turned the ball over six times. That's not just the first ten minutes. That's not just the first half. That's for the entire game which is spectacular team ball.
Cal got hot just before halftime and managed to pull ahead 29-27. That would prove to be their one and only lead of the ballgame. TJ Bamba knocked down a 3-pointer on Wazzu's first possession of the second half to regain the lead. From there it was off to the races. The Cougs put together a very strong second-half effort dominating the Bears 38-28.
Next up for Coach Smith and his team, the Oregon Ducks. They play down in Eugene next Thursday with a scheduled tipoff time of 6:30pm. You can catch the game on the Pac-12 Network.
https://wsucougars.com/news/2022/1/15/mens-basketball-jakimovski-sparks-washington-state-to-65-57-victory-over-cal.aspx -
Ran across an eye-popping stat that reflects the change in the college football landscape. The transfer portal has seen a record number of entries this season, as more than 1,460 players have submitted their names for departure purposes since the end of the regular season, according to 247Sports' Chris Hummer. Wow! Just Wow! Curiously, among those entering the portal are some Alabama standouts along with a couple of really good freshmen quarterbacks in the name of Caleb Williams of Oklahoma and Jaxson Dart of USC.
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 ...
