Notes from Ken Bone’s season wrap-up
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FROM PULLMAN -- WSU coach Ken Bone spoke with reporters for about 22 minutes this morning, putting a wrap on the 2011-12 season while looking forward a bit to next year. We've got some news and notes after the jump.
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We'll start with the biggest news item, which is the future of Brock Motum. Bone said he hasn't met with Motum yet individually -- he'll do that later this afternoon -- but that he's "confident" that Motum will return for his senior season. When Motum last addressed it, he said that was his plan, but that he'd evaluate all his options at the end of the season. Everything I've heard since has indicated that he'll be back, so I wouldn't expect any surprises. ... Bone said Motum will have another week or so of rest before he's able to do any kind of running. Mike Ladd, who played most of the season with a damaged ligament in his right thumb, will also need some time off, but as of now, Bone said, Ladd won't need surgery as originally anticipated. DaVonte Lacy has some lingering wrist and finger injuries that he'll have a chance to rest, too. But other than that, it sounds as if WSU will head into the offseason pretty healthy. ... Bone said he doesn't anticipate any defections as of now, but that he hasn't had a chance to meet with most of his players yet. In another bit of news, guard Will DIorio was apparently awarded a scholarship around Christmas for the second semester. Bone said that scholarship is only guaranteed through the end of this school year, and they'll make a determination after that whether to continue it. With DiIorio on scholarship, WSU was using all 13 spots. They lose four players and have four players signed, though there is still a question about the eligibility of Demarquise Johnson and Richard Peters. ... Bone said there's a chance WSU could add another player, and that they're in talks with a number of players from the high school level, to JC transfers to transfers from four-year schools. ... As for Peters and Johnson, Bone said both are still trying to get eligible, and that he's "confident it'll be close" as far as each of them getting into school. Johnson has been working out in Tacoma, Peters in Toronto, after each was sent home from Westwind Prep when that school ran into financial issues, Bone said. ... As for the season, Bone cited WSU's bevy of injuries -- Abe Lodwick, Ladd, Faisal Aden -- and said that made it difficult to be consistently competitive from the get-go. Still, he thought it was a "great season. From my standpoint and the other coaches on the staff, we enjoyed this group of guys immensely. The attitudes were good, the effort was good. Even at the end when we didn’t get a chance to go to the tournament we all talked about and dreamed about going to, we made the best of a situation and it gave the seniors a chance to extend their careers and they performed well right down to the last game, and it gave some other guys an opportunity to keep playing and gain some valuiable minutes that hopefully leads into next year." ... Bone said Reggie Moore, Lacy and Motum project as starters next season. He said Lacy needs to improve his ball-handling and passing, and that Motum could get stronger and be more of a scoring threat in the post. He likes the way Moore has progressed and thinks he'll be valuable as a senior. ... Royce Woolridge is another question mark heading into next year. Bone said he's quick, pesky defensively and can shoot, but that he's hesitant to guess how much of an impact he can have since it's hard to evaluate someone who is redshirting. You're too focused on the other guys, Bone said, and you might not see some mistakes made by a redshirting player. ... Bone mentioned Dexter Kernich-Drew, Patrick Simon and D.J. Shelton as players who could make a big leap next season, similar to Motum from his sophomore to his junior year. ... Abe Lodwick and Patrick Simon were each named second-team Pac-12 all-academic on Thursday. Charlie Enquist was an honorable mention.
That's all for now.
Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple