Basketball gets closer for WSU, Pac-10
COUGARS
We have our story on Ken Bone's appearance at the Pac-10's media day, even though we weren't in Los Angeles. You can read the unedited version on the link. We also add a few nuggets from each of the schools. Read on.
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• Here's the story ...
The games don't start for a couple weeks yet, but the Washington State Cougars now know what the West Coast media thinks of them.
Not all that much.
The Cougars, in their first year under coach Ken Bone, were picked Thursday to finish eighth in the Pac-10 Conference men's basketball race by the media that covers the conference.
But Bone understands.
"We have young guys and that sometimes can be a negative," Bone said at the conference's media day in Los Angeles. "But I'm trying to look at the positive side of it, which is we will work with these guys just like the Bennetts did with Robbie Cowgill, Kyle Weaver, Derrick Low, (Daven) Harmeling."
Bone inherits a roster with just one upperclassman, senior wing Nik Koprivica, and lost two prolific seniors, Aron Baynes and Taylor Rochestie. He was asked who would replace their 25.9 points per game.
The quick answer outside, Bone said, was Klay Thompson, who averaged 12.5 points a game as an All-Pac-10 freshman.
"We'll definitely try to get him good looks, maybe every possession," Bone joked.
He also brought up freshman Reggie Moore, a late recruit who Bone called "a huge get for our program."
Inside, Bone mentioned another All-Pac-10 freshman, DeAngelo Casto, though he said Casto "is really not a scorer." He compared Casto, who averaged 4.4 points and 4.0 rebounds a game, to a former Washington star, calling him "a poor man's Jon Brockman."
The Cougars' success the past three years – two NCAA and an NIT appearance – was fueled by Bennett ball, a defensive-minded, deliberate style of play. The Bone style is, he admits, a bit different.
"Defensively, Washington State did an outstanding job under the Bennetts, so I'm not sure why I'm changing it," Bone said. "Except that we are going to change it, extend our defense a little bit, try to play a little bit more aggressive."
Offensively Bone said WSU will play quicker, but admits this group doesn't have the depth or the skill set to play his style at full speed.
"It would be nice to play faster than we are even going to play this year," he said. "But I guess I really don't care to take it there without what I perceive to be the depth or lack of that we have right now.
"By playing faster, it fits my style and the way I want to coach. I think we can recruit that way, but until we are able to recruit the players that fit that style, we'll probably be somewhere in between."
Cal, which returns five seniors, including guards Patrick Christopher and Jerome Randle, was picked to win the league, earning 25 first-place votes. Defending champion Washington was picked to win the league by seven voters and finished second. UCLA, which lost the core of its team, earned five first place votes and was picked third.
From there, the media picked Arizona, under new coach Sean Miller, Oregon State, Oregon, Arizona State, WSU, USC, also with a first-year coach, veteran Kevin O'Neill, and Stanford.
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• And now, let's take a quick look around the conference in order of how they are expected to finish this season. ... Cal: Coach Mike Montgomery has five seniors who, he said, were on track to graduate. ... "We need to get better defensively," Montgomery said. ... He also feels the Bears have to get tougher and need to establish their inside game. ... Jorge Gutierrez, who was a real force last year as a backup point guard, has been hurt and hasn't practiced much. ... Washington: Lorenzo Romar thinks this group is as quick of a team as he's had since 2005, when Nate Robinson was one of the guards. ... Freshman Abdul Gaddy is the purest point guard on the team. "He's a pass-first point guard," Romar said. "We haven't had many of those." ... UCLA: "We're just trying to get healthy," said coach Ben Howland, who marveled at the number of players who have missed practice. ... He would love to see the start of practice moved up to Oct. 1 because the games start so quickly. ... Lamented the Bruins youth, with five freshmen and four sophomores who will be key to their success. ... "We lost a lot," Howland said. ... Arizona: New coach Sean Miller said he came to Arizona from Xavier, where he had great success, to coach in a conference with such high caliber. ... Said the change over has been slow, because a guy like Nic Wise has played for four coaches in four years. ... Wise, who Miller said "came back for the right reasons," is nursing an ankle injury. ... Oregon State: Last year, new coach Craig Robinson was the first to the podium. The reason? The lineup is in reverse order of the year previous' standings. "Last time I was here I went first," Robinson said. "I'm sure glad not to be going first. Our goal for next year is to be talking to you after the break." ... Touted recruit Roberto Nelson has not been cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse. ... Oregon: Long-time coach Ernie Kent joked that all summer he was mistaken for Robinson, whose sister, of course, is married to the president. Kent said he didn't correct those who thought he was Robinson and gave them his opinions. ... This is scheduled to be the last Pac-10 season at Mac Court. ... Though the Ducks finished last in 2008-09, Kent said a lot of young players emerged and he expects them to assert themselves this season. ... Arizona State: Herb Sendek is a man of few words. ... He does think center Eric Boateng will have a breakout season this year. "I expect good things from him." That is quite a compliment from Sendek. ... USC: New coach Kevin O'Neill had a strange departure from Arizona, where he served as an interim coach when Lute Olson was out and, though he was designated as Olson's successor, was forced out when he came back. But O'Neill wouldn't rip the Wildcats. "I don't feel bad about what happened," O'Neill said. "Would I like to beat Arizona twice a year? Sure. I also would like the beat UCLA twice, Cal twice." ... Stanford: "We lost a lot," coach Johnny Dawkins said, "but we have kids who are enthusiastic, energized and excited to go out and make their mark on the program." ... Dawkins said the Cardinal don't have a No. 1 point guard. They'll use three players there and have "a point guard by committee."
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• That's it for now. We'll be back later. Until then …
