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UPDATE: Washington State University has a new basketball coach. Portland State’s Ken Bone accepted the position today, The Spokesman-Review has learned. Sources close to the situation said Bone, 50, has been the focus of the week-long search to replace Tony Bennett, who left after three years as WSU coach to take the same position at the University of Virginia.
Bone has been at PSU for four years, posting a 77-49 record and taking the Vikings to the NCAA Tournament as the Big Sky Conference’s representative the past two seasons. If Bone accepts the position, and all indications are he will, it will mean athletics director Jim Sterk has dipped into that conference for his last two major hires, football coach Paul Wulff (Eastern Washington) and Bone.
Sterk came to WSU from Portland State, but his path did not cross Bone’s there. They were both, however, at Seattle Pacific during Bone’s tenure as Falcons’ head coach, though only for a single year. At the NCAA Division II school, Bone posted a 253-97 in 12 seasons between 1990 and 2002. Bone left SPU to assist Lorenzo Romar at Washington before taking the Portland State position. We’ll have more on this soon …
Steve Bergum covers EWU football and men's basketball, college baseball, and writes weekly golf column during the summer.
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Vince Grippi covers WSU sports and invites readers to share their thoughts on the sports news of the day.
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Jim Meehan covers Gonzaga basketball, Whitworth football, Spokane Shock football, college volleyball and prep softball.
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coreyb on April 06 at 1:06 p.m.
Thanks for breaking this Vince. Let's hope he accepts and announces he is keeping an assistant or two.
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mike chastek on April 06 at 1:14 p.m.
Ken Bone will be an excellent hire. I just think there are more
chunks in the pot than just hiring a coach..that needed to be
sorted out. First..it is a BIG raise in $ for him ($175,000 (?) up to $775,000(?)) so Sterk doesn't want it to be just a money
deal. Then assistant coaches at WSU- Sterk may want him to keep one or two, and Bone already has his own team. Don't
forget Paul Wulf went from $100K -$600K and still is lowest
paid in conference. Lotsa money to one person isn't lotsa
money to another already making big bucks in bigger league.
This guy can coach, and his players like him, and he wants to recruit the Northwest…nothing wrong there. He's seen Pac 10
with Romar, and I wish him well if he is chosen.
Stew Morril would have been good..he's a winner. And don't
forget WSU gets $400K from Virginia as a buyout..Memphis
only got $200K for loosing their coach…so Sterk does his homework.
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kaddy on April 06 at 1:16 p.m.
Bone will do a very good job - he's a hard worker, and a great person. No complaints here.
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Leo_Z on April 06 at 1:28 p.m.
Kind of what I've been expecting. Glad Davis is out.
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Coug Mania on April 06 at 2:04 p.m.
I hope it is the correct move —He needs to get on the phone to Xavier Thames yesterday! Keep the assistants and the recruits, and it will be a great hire
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DeerLakeRon on April 06 at 2:07 p.m.
Uncle Mike do you have inside info?
Is the contract all done?
I think Bone is a good fit. I hope he keeps some of our assistants so the youung players and recruits don't leave.
I like the NW connection. But Pullman is still a different place.
So are all you desperately dissapointent TB fans ok?
We were Coug Fans before he came and the Program is bigger the one Coach. If it weren't we would have never recovered from a couple before the Bennets.
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MikeSequim on April 06 at 2:14 p.m.
It's gonna be a nice Summer. Good pick Mr. Sterk and all involved. Looking forward to the Fall.
Thanks Vince for the Update.
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Edog on April 06 at 2:15 p.m.
Good hire. So how does it usually work with the assistants? Does Sterk tell Bone who he has to keep if anyone, or does Bone get to make those choices?
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kaiczar on April 06 at 2:22 p.m.
Hopefully this doesn't turn out to be Paul Graham 2.0… remember, the Cougs were built around defense, not running and gunning.
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DeerLakeRon on April 06 at 2:25 p.m.
Whatever Coach Bone runs,
It worked against Gonzaga in a game
and the Cougs in a scrimage this year.
Does someone have insight to offer on what he likes?
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Nuss on April 06 at 2:28 p.m.
Edog —
Depends on who the coach is. If he's a high-demand coach, he might make bringing his own assistants a stipulation of agreeing to the contract. In this case, I would bet it will be a joint venture between Bone and Sterk. My guess? They try to keep at least one assistant for the recruits who have already committed.
kaiczar —
Don't assume he's a run-and-gun coach. His first season at PSU, he played at a pace of 72 possessions per game — 24th in the country. Last year? Just 65.7 possessions per game, which was below the national average of 66.5. The guy knows how to adapt to his personnel, which you can read more about here: http://www.cougcenter.com/2009/3/31/8…
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kaiczar on April 06 at 2:30 p.m.
DeerLakeRon, he likes to run up and down the court, and he also has had some questionable character kids in his program at Portland State. My opinion is that I don't think he'll land the Pac-10 type athletes in Pullman that he needs, over the likes of the LA and AZ schools. Its the exact same style of play that Paul Graham brought (good recruiter, up-tempo offense) minus the local ties, so we'll see.
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kaiczar on April 06 at 2:30 p.m.
Nuss, I'm definitely hoping for the best.
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lbrush on April 06 at 2:32 p.m.
Happy
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CougarsRock on April 06 at 2:38 p.m.
I'm optimistic.
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garlandcoug on April 06 at 2:54 p.m.
Another smart hire by Sterk. We'll see how it all comes out, but you got to like the process.
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TommyCoug on April 06 at 3:49 p.m.
Any comparison to Paul Graham is “NOT” a vote of great confidence to me!
However, Bone's name kept coming up and back as a comparison to others…We had some candidates with names and other winners. He is mid-aged, on the upswing from Seattle Pacific, then Portland State and now WSU. Plays good defense and a combo of offenses. Sounds like the best possible compromise or true pick out there for us.
At this point I am pleased and satisfied…2 seasons from now we will have a better answer!
GO BONE…GO STERK…GO COUGS!!
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TR on April 06 at 3:54 p.m.
Anyone who compares Ken Bone to Paul Graham doesn't know one ounce about basketball and probably shouldn't be posting on a college athletic board. There's not a coach in America who would make that comparison, just a moronic fan.
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notthefacts on April 06 at 4:39 p.m.
In the name of the Angus & Malcom Young of AC/DC let me be the first to say:
“GIVIN' THE DAWGS A BONE”
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mike chastek on April 06 at 5:01 p.m.
Deer Lake Ron: I have no inside info…just follow the Cougs.
Sterk said he won't cut back $ on new coach, but I think he will on Bone. Why? Because he was making $125K, and he would
take the job at $550K, but that is insulting and Sterk knows that.
He had Tony's $1m salary to dangle around, but there was no
interest from “name” guys who would command that kind of money. So we drop down to a lower league and get the best
available…..WE DID!!!.. I think Sterk wants him to keep an assistant or two, but Bone wants to rerward his guys too…it
is a big $ raise for them. We'll see…….I think it was a great
hire, and I thank Tony and Dick for all they did..this program
isn't like the mess Paul W inherited. This guy teaches teamwork- and don't forget Ferris won two state championships
against the Seattle All-Americans, and I wish him the best of luck…someone was going to grab him..we got lucky.
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fitz on April 06 at 10:32 p.m.
Paul Graham a great recruiter? Are we talking about the same guy?
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junurz on April 07 at 6:56 a.m.
I feel a sense of calm, just sitting back feeling the goodness of the situation. Here in Pt. Townsend, with no affiliation to the school, except a loyalty as a fan in Washington, supporting the big three (Cougs,Zags&Dawgs), I think we're in a better place.
Bone should do good things and was left in good hands. Thanking the Bennetts and Mr. Sterk, they are to be highly commended. DeerLakeRon, it also worked against the Dawgs, but they reciprocated and won 84-83. That's telling in just what he's capable of, with a different talent base. A true disciple of the game with the vision to adapt. Matter of fact i feel good. da de da…Thanks Vince, as always.
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