WSU opens basketball season

COUGARS

OK, you talked me into it. Here’s a quick pregame basketball post. Read on.

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• As we said a few days back, WSU wasn’t done recruiting despite having one senior on the roster (Nik Koprivica) and one commitment (Patrick Simon) of Ephrata. Junior college wing Faisel Aden from Florida has committed to the Cougars and will sign Wednesday, according to Cougfan. Don’t be surprised if there isn’t a third player signed either this fall or in the late signing period. It’s obvious the Cougars need a big body inside. How will there be scholarships available? Remember, scholarships are for one year only. But if a player leaves, there are APR interests to work out, though the basketball team has been in good shape that way the past few years. … Someone asked how there could be just one upperclassman on the roster, and if that was a failing of the previous staff. Well, maybe. When Koprivica came to Pullman in 2006, he was joined by Thomas Abercrombie from New Zealand. After redshirting a year and barely playing the next, Abercrombie decided to return home. His scholarship was used for one of last year’s freshmen. The next year, WSU had four freshmen come into the program. Two are still here: Abe Lodwick and Charlie Enquist. Both redshirted so they are juniors academically and sophomores in eligibility. The two others both had health issues. Stephen Sauls had a heart problem as a freshman and went home to Texas. Fabian Boeke suffered a back injury that won’t allow him to play, so he’s still a student but no longer playing hoops. They both would be juniors this season.

• Now on to the game tonight. Lewis-Clark State is 2-1, having defeated two NCAA Division II teams and losing to Montana last Friday in Missoula, 82-53. They feature junior college transfer Markus Monroe, a 6-foot-2 point guard who can bounce it to the rim and shoot from outside. My guess in Marcus Capers will start on him. Also on the Warriors is former Republic High and CCS standout Derek Gianukakis, in his first year in Lewiston. … FYI, the crowd is really thin. I thought more people would be here to see Ken Bone’s debut. After all, it’s free. … And James Watson is sitting tonight after banging his head in practice.

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• That’s it for now. We’ll be back at halftime so you can comment. Until then …