It was a crowded Tuesday at WSU
The Ken Bone Era is underway at Washington State University. Let the sophomoric jokes begin. Wait, they already have. Want proof? Just tool around the WSU blogosphere. Couldn't see that coming, could you? Oh well. Maybe it will die down by October. Anyhow, we have links. Read on.
••••••••••
• Before we get to all the coverage of Ken Bone's introductory celebration at WSU – to call it a press conference, putting it into the same category as the ones former UPI reporter Helen Thomas, in town for the Murrow Symposium, used to attend in D.C., would be a stretch – let's link to the coverage of spring football. Here's our story, the unedited version of which you can find here.
• OK, we can move on to basketball. I watched a large portion of the get-to-know-you workout Bone had with the Cougars in the PEB on Tuesday and it reminded me of the first few minutes of a basketball camp. A team meeting followed by guys being dividing into random teams and playing games, allowing the coaches in attendance to get a quick first-impression before moving on to the meat of the camp. After the games, Bone had the players runs some drills, stopping them occasionally for a quiet conversation explaining how he expected them to perform, setting the bar early on expectations. As for the differences with the past, the only little variance that stood out was the emphasis on quick transition from defense to offense. Get the ball inbounds quickly. Attack the defense if it's not prepared. I'm sure other differences will bubble to the surface throughout the summer and fall.
• Now on to the links. You can find the long version of our story on our post from last night, along with the S-R story here. ... John Blanchette's column examines the changing face of college coaching. ... Jim Moore on the P-I website has his take. ... The news was covered by this AP story in the News Tribune, a Howie Stalwick piece in the Kitsap Sun and a Bud Withers article in the Times. UPDATE: John McGrath weighed in with a column in the News Tribune. ... From Portland, Nick Daschel had this piece in the Oregonian (he also had a column on the Pac-10 coaching hires with his usual gig, Buster Sports) and there was a story in the Tribune.
• One last link for you. It has nothing to do with football or basketball and everything to do with them. It's an interview the Los Angeles Times did with incoming Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott. I think you'll find it enlightening in some ways.
•••
• That's it for this morning. We'll be back as events warrant. Until then …
