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November 30, 2022
Wazzu News and Notes - November 30, 2022
- Washington State men's basketball will commence playing Pac-12 competition Thursday night down in Eugene, OR. On paper, this game is a mismatch of epic proportions. However, both teams have to play the game to actually determine a winner.
To date, Wazzu has been doing a very good job of passing the ball generating a bevy of assists. With a number of new faces in the lineup, it's taken time for this group to come together as a team. In fact, that's definitely a work in progress.
The toughest coaching job for head man Kyle Smith is to come up with rotations that will put his team in a position to be successful. He's without the services of two starters for the entire season. Deshon Jackson and Myles Rice are both contending with significant health issues that have shelved them as players. Add to that another starter, junior Andrej Jakimovski, has yet to play in a game this season. Yes, he's another guy contending with injury. So if you tune in to Pac-12 Network Washington on Thursday night at 7:30pm, don't be surprised if there are very few familiar faces. TJ Bamba and DJ Rodman join Mohmed Gueye as returning starters. There's a trio you should recognize. All three have shown improvement during the non-conference schedule and appear poised to have good seasons.
So why should there be trepidation about this edition of Cougar basketball? When compared with the other teams in the Pac-12, Wazzu is a combination of smaller and lighter. Thank goodness WSU isn't playing in the Big10. Let's not even go there.
If Wazzu can shoot at least 50% from the floor, 45% from behind the arc and 85% from the free throw line, they should win some conference games. Anything less than those stats and realistically, Wazzu will struggle greatly.
That said, when this squad plays within Coach Smith's system, they are fun to watch. Transfers Jabe Mullins (Santa Clara) and Justin Powell (Tennessee) are really good guards that can score from anywhere on the court. Both do a nice job of sharing the ball. However, neither seem destined to make the Pac-12 All Defense team. Don't know how much playing time true freshman Dylan Darling (son of James Darling who played for the Cougs and had a nice career in the NFL) is a fun player to watch. He's scrappy and hustles which has been contagious for his teammates. Darling set a bunch of scoring records during his HS days in Spokane, but has yet to light it up at this level. When he sees the court, which hasn't been often, freshman 7-footer Adrame Diongue clearly has a huge upside. Presently he's a work in progress who could be the next version of Mohed Gueye.
Kyle Smith has proven himself to be an excellent coach. The question is, can he remake the style of this team with the healthy guys on his roster? If you're a fan of Cougar basketball, this season might be filled with a number of surprises. In fact, if the Cougs can manage another double-digit conference wins campaign, Wazzu might be able to get into the NCAA tourney or at least the NIT.
Go Cougs!!!
https://wsucougars.com/news/2022/11/29/mens-basketball-opens-conference-play-at-oregon.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 ...
