Moore practices, may get to play Thursday
Cougar was suspended after marijuana found
PULLMAN – Washington State basketball coach Ken Bone reiterated Tuesday there was no change in suspended point guard Reggie Moore’s status, but he did say there was a chance Moore could play Thursday against visiting Arizona State.
Those chances seemed to improve later in the day when Bone and Moore met and the sophomore was allowed to practice for the first time this week.
Moore, cited by the Whitman County prosecutor’s office Jan. 4 for misdemeanor marijuana and drug paraphernalia charges stemming from a Dec. 11 search of his dorm room, was suspended indefinitely by Bone prior to Saturday’s victory at Stanford.
“On Thursday night, after the Cal game, driving to Palo Alto, I thought, ‘I can make this decision at any point now. I think I’ve got what I need to go off of,’ ” Bone said.
Bone said no additional information came to light, he just wanted to take his time before making a decision.
“The process took longer than I expected, but that’s the way it works,” Bone said. “… I wanted to make sure I knew the exact story before disciplining him.”
Part of the problem was the nature of the charges.
“Over the years, I’ve taken every situation I can recall and I’ve tried to isolate it to the person and the issue and the situation,” Bone said. “Every one’s a little different. And this one was very different.”
When asked how, Bone answered, “This one happened in a dorm room in which he was not present. That’s different than any situation I’ve ever experienced in 20-some years of coaching.”
Moore did not practice Monday but after meeting with Bone on Tuesday afternoon he was allowed to participate.
Bone had said earlier “there’s a chance” Moore will play Thursday when the Cougars (13-5, 3-3 Pac-10) host Arizona State (9-8, 1-4).
An All-Pac-10 freshman selection last season when he averaged 12.7 points per game, shot 41.7 percent from the floor and led WSU in assists, Moore missed the first five games of this season with a slight fracture of the scaphoid bone in his left wrist.
Playing with a splint since then, he has not been as productive this season, averaging 8.8 points on 33.7 percent shooting.