Wazzu World
Cougarlew is dedicated to sharing positive, factual insights and information about Washington State University athletics
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Cougarlew @Cougarlew
May 03, 2022
Wazzu News and Notes - May 3, 2022
- Frankly, it seemed like a good idea for Wazzu World staff to continue vacationing for another day or two, but news just broke that must be shared.
In the wake of so many key players from last year's men's hoop squad entering the transfer portal, Coach Kyle Smith landed a young man with tremendous potential. That's right, potentially a very good player. AZ Compass Prep center Adrame Diongue (Dakar, Senegal) the No. 43 ranked player in ESPN's Top-100 and a 4-star recruit, is headed to Pullman. Diongue chose WSU over some impressive BB programs such as, Kentucky, Kansas, UNLV, and Texas Tech. He is the third highest-ranked 247Sports recruit in program history and the highest-rated among the ESPN100 for the Cougs.
If you thought Efe Abogidi and Mouhamed Gueye were tall, long athletic student-athletes, Diongue is taller, longer, and just as athletic. He stands a legit 7' while tipping the scales at less than 200lbs. Yes, he will need to bulk up to endure the rigors of a Pac-12 season, but that should happen under the watchful eye of Coach Smith and staff.
And who knows, it's possible but unlikely that both Abogidi and Gueye might return. There are rumors that both players are looking to reel in about $250,000 through NLI endorsements. Turns out there is a workaround for international players to get NLI money. They have to earn it in their home country. Considering agents are getting 15-20% if that money, it won't be a high hurdle to learn when funneling money to another country to fulfill an NLI commitment.
https://wsucougars.com/news/2022/5/3/mens-basketball-cougs-land-big-man-adrame-diongue.aspx
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Wazzu News and Notes - December 14, 2022
- 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 ...
Wazzu News and Notes - December 13, 2022
- 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 ...
Wazzu News and Notes - December 11, 2022
- 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 ...
