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Cougar baseball (9-15) took to the diamond in Provo, UT to face a solid BYU (13-9) squad and did yet another faceplant. This time Wazzu managed to plate 3-runs, while their pitching surrendered 9-runs. Of course, the WSU defense committed another error to round things out.
When Wazzu exploded for 2-runs in the top of the ninth, the manner in which they lit up the scoreboard sums up the way this season has gone. WSU plated 2-runs on a bases-loaded passed ball and an RBI-sacrifice fly from Kodie Kolden. Wow!
Having completed an 8-game road trip, the Cougs return home and play a series against Utah at Bailey-Brayton Field beginning this Friday.
https://wsucougars.com/news/2022/3/29/baseball-wsu-drops-nonconference-matchup-at-byu.aspx -
Before closing the book on Wazzu men's hoops following their loss to Texas A&M in the NIT semi-finals, here are a few thoughts about a team that accomplished more than experts predicted.
Things should only get better for Coach Kyle Smith and his troops. Virtually the entire roster will return for next season. The one notable exception will be Michael Flowers who has exhausted his eligibility. When Isaac Bonton graduated, there was grave concern about how Smith would replace the team's top scorer. Flowers came to Pullman via the transfer portal. Situation resolved. How will Smith replace Flowers, the team's top scorer this season? We'll have to stay tuned to find out the answer.
Once Washington government officials relaxed Covid-19 restrictions and allowed fans to return to Beasley Coliseum, the place was rocking once again. That's a clear marker that Wazzu hoops are on their way up.
Kyle Smith has a way to go before being compared to former Coach Tony Bennett, but that's the direction his coaching career is heading. Given what Smith has accomplished in his three seasons in Pullman, Cougar Nation may well be holding their breath soon that another, bigger program comes calling on Smith. That's the nature of college basketball, especially in Pullman where recruiting is one of the biggest challenges in the game.
Finally, fans' expectations for the men's program are on the rise. Since the departure of Bennett for Virginia, there has been very little excitement attached to WSU basketball. Smith and some fine young student-athletes have turned things around in a very positive direction. The future looks bright for the Cougs! -
In the category of Fun Facts, it appears WSU participated in the last semi-final NIT game to be played in Madison Square Garden. Seems the NCAA bought the rights to the NIT and is set on moving the semis and finals of the tournament to a new venue. That ends an 82-year run for the tourney in NYC. After the finals on Thursday, the NIT will be hosted by the highest bidder. Gosh, does that follow the path of college sports or what?
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 ...
