Fate Gives Cougars Shot At Revenge
The last time Washington State ventured to the East to play basketball, the Cougars made it as far as Buffalo, N.Y., before running into a hostile Canisius crowd and a hot Golden Griffins team that knocked them out of the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament last March.
Coach Kevin Eastman’s team (2-0) heads back to the Empire State this week to compete in Syracuse’s four-team Carrier Classic, and dumb luck has paired WSU against Canisius in Friday night’s opening round.
Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. PST, with the host Orangemen scheduled to face Columbia in the nightcap. A crowd of more than 24,000 is expected in Syracuse’s 33,000-seat Carrier Dome, but the Cougars aren’t expecting as rude a reception as they received during their 89-80 NIT loss in Buffalo’s Memorial Coliseum.
Some are even hinting they might be the crowd favorites, especially with the neutral-court setting and the large contingent of WSU fans expected to show.
“That was definitely a nasty crowd last year,” admitted Cougars guard Shamon Antrum, who expects his brother, William, and at least 40 “aunts, uncles and a whole bunch of cousins” to drive down from his hometown of New Haven, Conn., to watch the rematch. “But this feels almost neutral with (Canisius) not being at home and us having all the people coming that we do.”
In addition to Antrum’s entourage, at least 50 friends and relatives of forward Mark Hendrickson are expected.
Hendrickson said his mother, Barbara, has been working for the past month to round up enough tickets to satisfy requests from family members who live in eastern Pennsylvania and friends who played baseball with her son in York, Penn., the past two summers…”“But all the others had to call 1-800-GO COUGS and get tickets for themselves,” he added.
Class act
Lest anyone should think that Eastman is publicity hungry, consider this:
WSU’s second-year coach missed his weekly press conference Tuesday afternoon so he could take his turn as a teacher’s aide at Franklin Elementary School, where his son, Jake, attends kindergarten.
Upon returning to his office, Eastman explained that part of his duties included playing the role of a firefighter answering 911 calls from students, who were learning how the system works.
He said the experience wasn’t much different than dealing with his players.
“I had to ask them questions like, ‘What’s your name?’ and, ‘Where do you live?”’ Eastman joked, punctuating each inquiry with a blank stare.
WCC: Pac this!
Last year, the Pac-10 was an impressive 83-20 outside of the conference. This year, it is almost as efficient, having won 24 of 33.
But four of those nine losses have come at the hands of teams from the lesser-known West Coast Conference.
Santa Clara beat defending national champion UCLA and Oregon State; Portland knocked off OSU, and Monday night Loyola-Marymount beat USC.
The Pac-10’s only win in five tries against the WCC came when WSU beat Gonzaga in overtime back on Nov. 24.
Dollar out
Cameron Dollar, UCLA’s struggling junior point guard, probably will be held out of Saturday’s game against Maryland - and possibly the rest of December - in order to allow his injured hands to heal for conference play in January.
Dollar hurt his right hand near the pinky Nov. 8 in an intrasquad game and has played despite later tests that revealed a ligament tear. Then, early in the second half against Kansas on Saturday, Dollar suffered a chipped bone and dislocation of his left pinky.
Counted on to lead the team after the departure of Tyus Edney, Dollar has made only four of his 21 shots from the field (19 percent).
, DataTimes