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WSU links drizzle out on a Tuesday

Posted by Vince at 7:42 a.m. on January 6 Comments (33)

COUGARS

Not a lot in the way of links this morning. Now rain, that we’ve got a lot of. Piles of snow one morning, ice all afternoon and rain the next day. How fun. Anyhow, read on for the few links we do have and a couple of thoughts.

••••••••••

• We start with football, despite it being the early part of January. There’s the schedule stuff, with our short (second item) and a piece from the Dallas Morning News. Seems SMU had a home-and-home scheduled with Missouri but that was canceled. Viola, the Cougars have two games, including a winnable home game this fall. Elsewhere on the football front, junior college tight end Peter Tuitupou finally sent in his paperwork – let me tell you, the delay was causing some consternation in the coaches’ offices the past couple weeks – and will be on campus next week, starting classes. If, of course, there isn’t another foot of snow and classes are canceled for a while. … By the way, former Idaho coach Nick Holt, who left the Inland Northwest in such a strange way a couple years ago, is UW new defensive coordinator. The Sept. 12 game, when the Huskies host Idaho, should be a little more interesting now.

• OK, on to basketball. Watched practice yesterday and I can tell you there is no end to the lengths WSU is going to solve its offensive woes. In his three years as a head coach, Tony Bennett has already shown a willingness to adapt to his talent, a trait that should serve the team well the next couple weeks. Don’t expect the Cougars to stand still, not in the way they attack a defense or in the players who come off the bench. This week is a great opportunity for a Mike Harthun or Abe Lodwick or the like to show he can help on the offensive end, because, if guard at all in practice, it will lead to playing time. … One other basketball related item. This video clip caught my eye late last night. Some Husky fans are outraged by the incident between Caleb Forrest and Darnell Gant. Let me know what you think. (For some comment, check here.) I can tell you I didn’t see this live. When it happened I was in a spot near the court where it was out of my view. Watching the video last night was the first time I knew there was any contact before the technicals. It doesn’t seem like too big a deal, but who knows? Anyhow, let me know your thoughts.

• That’s it for now. We’ll be back this afternoon with the unedited version of our story for tomorrow, which will cover the surprising resurgence of Cal and Stanford. Till then …

33 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

JugHead on January 06 at 8:04 a.m.
After reading the comments, the one thing I have to say is that Romar is a classy guy.

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rufus on January 06 at 8:08 a.m.
looks like the cougs are feeling the pressure this season - not playing well- caleb not repsonding well . tony b will take care of this type of play/behavior

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coreyb on January 06 at 8:43 a.m.
Every time I read a husky blog, I have to wonder where they find their fans. I think they all come from a local Junior High or Juvinile Hall. I didn't see the incident and can't access you tube, and I am sure it was wrong what he did, but those guys are unbelievable.

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JugHead on January 06 at 9:19 a.m.
On the Husky blog, they are in a constant state of dissatisfaction. Any setback and they all start complaining and throwing their entire team and/or coaching staff under the bus. Many of them are not true fans and really don't care about the kids that represent their school. If Rochestie had the type of early-season struggles he has had as a Husky, he would have been receiving death threats…whereas most people on this blog genuinely feel bad for the kid but still have a great deal of admiration and respect for him personally. As an example, Dentmon and Pondexter have both been ruthlessly attacked on their blog for years now and if it had been put to a public vote they would have been kicked off the team. And which two guys just killed us last week? Dentmon and Pondexter. Now they are great guys in the eyes of the Husky faithful….until next week. It is truly a “what have you done for me lately” type of mentality among many of their fan base. Most Cougs, on the other hand, are perfectly content with great kids like Rochestie, Cowgill, Low, Weaver, Harmeling, and Forest even if they struggle on the court. Criticism is a part of being a sports fan. The difference is most Coug fans keep their criticism to the basketball court, whereas many Husky fans attack the character of kids who don't deserve it.

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avboden on January 06 at 10:42 a.m.
If i'm correct, the husky player was also given a technical foul there.

so Husky's out there, kindly shove it, they both got techs, it happens. Physical play, frustration, sure it's unacceptable but it's nothing to freak about.

BTW I was front row, you wouldn't believe the trash UW was talking on the court, I'm amazed more players didn't get decked

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OlyCoug on January 06 at 10:47 a.m.
I want to see emotion, and Caleb has it. Anyone who's played competitive sports has had this kind of lapse. I doubt it will happen again, and I hope the emotion continues in a more positive vein.

The fact that the Husky/Youtube commenters are whining about it, saying that the Cougs can't “lose like a man,” confirms how much they hate losing to WSU. It's good to see they still care when their asses are handed to them 7 out of 8 times on the court and 4 of 5 on the football field.

Gotta give the Huskies credit: They DO know how to lose like men. They're pretty good all around at losing. They've had quite a bit of practice lately.

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garlandcoug on January 06 at 11:36 a.m.
Go ahead huskies have your day. You beat us fair and square, clear your throats, you've had very little to crow about.

“and thats all I got to say about that.” Forrest G

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Tom_R on January 06 at 12:18 p.m.
Caleb got a little frustrated with the guy using his hands on
him—keeping him away from the basketball. I absolutely love the competitive spirit in Caleb, but he shouldn't do that anymore.

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MikeSequim on January 06 at 2:46 p.m.
It was a cheap shot and it's not done by everyone who's ever played competitive hoops! The rule is simple, ejection from the game. Don't hide behind our Crimson and Grey and say they both did it. They didn't, Caleb did, PERIOD.

As for some of the Husky fans, ya they can be roundheads but it doesn't mean we have to be like them. Wake up, smell some of what your shoveling and admit to the truth of what happened and what you saw!

All that being said, Coach B, Coach Romar, Mr. Gant and after the incident, Mr. Forrest handled it just right, so should you!!!
Go Coug's. NOW THATS ALL MY OPINION.

Mike, Sequim

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ECoug01 on January 06 at 4:07 p.m.
Did you see the Fuskies…

just under 3 Mill for 3 coaches so far.

350 k for Michalczik
700 k for Nick Holt
1.85 M for Sarkisian

Wow. They still think they need money for a stadium upgrade from the public in poor economic times??? Bullsh*t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They will have a 4 mill coaching staff before its over. Holt yes thats the same guy who failed miserably at Idaho in 2 years. He is the “D coordinator” at SC but Caroll calls all the D plays. Not a great hire in my opinion. How hard is it to coach at SC when you have 10 out of 11 future NFL players on your D?? With more HS all americans backing them up..

Oh and Michalczik is now on my black list of no longer official coug alum along with Dick Baird.. Both traitors.. This was from the Seattle Times what he said when hired… Said he always wanted to be a Husky. Wulff needs to talk some sense into his buddy..

Michalczik played guard at Washington State from 1984-88. But as he discussed in this interview a few years ago, he wanted to play at Washington but the Huskies didn't offer him. So looks like he's finally getting his chance to be a Husky. At WSU, he played on the line alongside current WSU coach Paul Wulff and was part of the Cougar team that won the Aloha Bowl in 1988 with coach Dennis Erickson.

Michalczik has further ties to UW as he is also married to a former Husky volleyball player, Jennifer Streatfield, who played at Washington from 1990-93. She is still among UW's career leaders in aces. He discussed the support of his wife and more in this Q-and-A a few years ago.

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EllensburgCoug on January 06 at 4:23 p.m.
Mike Sequim-You are right

Rejoice in victory!
Be gracious in defeat!

Caleb Forrest has got the first part right. He needs to work on the second.

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Nuss on January 06 at 5:38 p.m.
Seriously, the guy loses his cool for five seconds — for the first time any of us have ever seen — and some of you are talking like Caleb's got some deep character flaw he needs to fix, or like Tony needs to “discipline” him.

Let's get a grip on reality. It's not like he sucker punched the guy in the face or did any damage. He shouldn't have done it, and he knows it, and given what I've seen from the guy for four years, I'm pretty confident this isn't going to be some kind of larger pattern of behavior. Cut him some slack and get focused on what this team needs to do to put the ball in the hoop.

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coug79 on January 06 at 6:30 p.m.
Poor move by Caleb for which I'm sure he is genuinely sorry. Anyone who has seen him play over the last few years knows this was clearly out of character for him and is not behavior seen from him in the past. Handled with class by both CF and Romar after the game. Romar is correct. Case closed.

Perhaps the reason so many Husky fans are so quick to label “thug” behavior is they are hyper-sensitive from watching the parade of felons from the Husky football team over the last 20 years. Where's Jeremy Stevens when we need him?
.

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Britain on January 06 at 6:54 p.m.
Vince, interesting hints about possible offense changes. Think back to how willing to change lineups Tony has been. Remember that Hopson was a starter for a team that nearly went undefeated in the preseason two years ago and Taylor was still able to supplant him. I'm holding my hopes out for Capers, though he's still long and loose and struggles when he's the primary point. The Cougs are suffering from ballhandlers and a solid secondary point guard. It's accentuated by the fact that Nic doesn't handle the ball well and Harmeling will not dribble drive. They will struggle against guard oriented teams who are quick, athletic and willing to get in your face defensively. Even a mediocre team like LSU was able to take it to an athletic level the Cougs can't currently match.
It would have been nice to have Hopson teaming with Taylor this year and Josh A. adding tremendous firepower to the team last year. It certainly is a testament to how well Tony can recruit, not just the current Cougs, but the once-were Cougs too. Gives me great hope that solid talent is in the wings.
WSU had three kids who could create last year in Taylor, Lowe, and Weaver. But lets not forget that Derick and Kyle struggled often their first two years. Once they physically matured their offense caught up to their defense. Same should happen with Klay and Casto. Just an unfortunate gap between the solid but not so athletic upperclassmen and the inconsistent and not yet mature but extremely gifted freshman. My guess is Watson and Enquist will be able to make a solid and young front line next year and that the team really blossoms again in two years.
Don't forget how the struggles the team went through 4 and 3 years ago built an incredible mental toughness in the kids that stuck with it. They were never afraid to lose in close games the past two years because they had done it so often their first two years. I loved Weaver and Lowe and Cowgil but they weren't world beaters out of the gate, they learned to be terrific together.
It's tough to win when you really struggle to score and that's just where the Cougs are right now. Good enough to dominate mid-level competition, but struggle when they are matched by better athletes. But they do play good defense as Vince has noted and they'll be in every game they can score some points in. They've gone dry in some second halves and even collapsed in a couple of second halves of second halves, but they aren't getting blown out throughout.
I think back to that Oklahoma State game when so many of the greats were sophomores and they got humiliated in Stillwell. Cowgill had a great comment, saying he wasn't sure they even belonged on the same court out there. Great thing is, they decided they did belong. A great existential moment about what they were willing to commit to for the future. Go to ESPN.com and look back at the scores of games the Cougs played in those years and how often they were in games. Not too different from this team. The 20 point loss to the Huskies was because the Cougs were close enough to have a reason to foul and the Huskies made their free throws.
They've got a very good coach, they don't quit, they are never lazy. I'm hoping they relax and find some gaps. I'm hoping they probe more offensively instead of merely passing. Klay is going to be very good, Casto improves offensively every week, Taylor seems to be relaxing, and Baynes is extremely efficient when his teammates actually get him the ball in a position to score. (Though I'm worried everyone in the Pac-10 just saw how effective a quick double team on him is.) My guess is they'll be a better second half of the season team, but it may not always result in wins. I enjoy the way Tony coaches, I enjoy how hard the team plays.
Go Cougs.

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Britain on January 06 at 6:59 p.m.
Yikes. I apologize for the length of the post. I was in Pullman and away from the computer for too long!

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avboden on January 06 at 7:50 p.m.
I've said it all year

number 0, marcus capers needs more game time. He's a tallented ball handler and besides TR seems to be the only guy we have who's strong and fast enough to truly drive to the hoop.

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RobHH on January 06 at 9:30 p.m.
That was a cheap shot by Caleb, didn't see it live.

There was a lot of crap out there, much behind the basket. The players know the totality of the action. Really doesn't matter what a bunch of bloggers say. And it doesn't matter if you are looking through purple and yellow glasses or crimson and GRAY.

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