COUGARS Talking with the Washington State players after the 65-54 loss to Stanford on Thursday night, there was a grudging admiration of the way the Cardinal shot. Anytime a team hits a hair under 70 percent against you from beyond the 3-point arc, there has…
COUGARS It's getting late. Read on for my unedited game story.
COUGARS Washington State had no answer for Lawrence Hill. And, when Taylor Rochestie picked up his third foul with 17 minutes left and had to sit, the Cougars had little execution on offense. That combination, along with possibly the Cougars poorest defense effort of the…
COUGARS You like fast-paced basketball? Then this isn't the game for you, except maybe the final minute in which the Cougars surrendered all of a hard-earned first-half advantage. The pace of this game was so slow it only took about 35 minutes to play 20…
COUGARS Another road game, another lineup. Yes, if there is one thing you can count on this season, it's that WSU will adjust its starting lineup to fit the competition. And tonight the competition is Stanford, a team that usually starts three players 6-foot-7 and…
COUGARS Another important weekend in Pac-10 basketball. Is there any other kind? And, lest we forget, some news on the football recruiting front. Yesterday was important for some reason. Read on.
COUGARS We're about to head to Northern California for this weekend's two key Pac-10 basketball games. But before we go, we wanted to give you our letter-of-intent day coverage. On the link you'll find the unedited version of our story that will run in Thursday's…
COUGARS A surprisingly quick post for this morning, in that there isn't all that much to link. For what we do have, read on.
COUGARS A quick post for your Tuesday evening. We've got the unedited version of a basketball story for tomorrow's S-R available now. Read on.
COUGARS Good Tuesday morning to you. The weather is fine here in Pullman, though there must have been a blizzard in the apartment complex Sunday. Wait, it's just trash from Super Bowl parties. Well it hasn't "melted" yet. Really, how far is it to the…
COUGARS There is no louder facility in the Pac-10 than McKale Center. And it was as loud as its been in a while midway through the second half today. We offer you the raw version of our game story and some web-only notes. Read on.
COUGARS We here in McKale Center getting ready for the teams to take the floor. It's awful early, kinda like a summer tournament with kids. Had a nice chat with Bill Rafferty about Tony Bennett, Klay Thompson and DeAngelo Casto – plus the Cougars' postseason…
COUGARS It's sometimes amazing how much a college basketball team can get through in an hour practice on the Friday between games on the road. From fundamentals to shooting to going over offenses to prepping for the opponent, there isn't much wasted time. Except beforehand…
COUGARS Nothing like an upset of No. 14 in the nation to get the comment section lighting up again. The one that read "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" was especially insightful. Just kidding. I understand the letting-off-steam aspect of this interactive media. Anyhow, let's move on to our usual…
COUGARS This is the night Klay Thompson announced his presence. The freshman from Southern California set a school record for freshmen with eight 3-pointers while scoring a career-high 28 points. It was also the night DeAngelo Casto showed he can do just about anything needed…
COUGARS Despite an early 9-0 run by the Sun Devils, WSU patiently clawed its way back into this game and trail by three at the half. James Harden had 13 points for the Devils, though that's unofficial because we don't have stats up here in…
COUGARS Do you know it is only 15 degrees warmer here in Tempe than it is in Pullman right now? Of course, the high today here will be 73, while Pullman is predicted to top out some 40 degrees lower. The people at the golf…
COUGARS We're in SeaTac waiting for our flight to the Valley of the Eternal Traffic Jam, and thought we would post our advance that will appear in tomorrow's S-R. We also have some extra comments for you. So, for the unedited advance and more, read…
COUGARS Washington State will practice this morning, then catch a bus to Spokane for the flight to Phoenix. And when Pullman looked like a snow globe in the hands of a hyperactive 6-year-old yesterday, I'm sure every one of the Cougars were looking forward to…
COUGARS • UPDATED: 7:50 P.M. We have some surprises for you this Tuesday. Instead of basketball links, we offer some football recruiting insights from the "experts." Not sure if they have any validity, but we're passing them on. And, oh ya, a basketball commentary as…
COUGARS A couple of quick links to get you through your Monday. Have a great day and don't forget to bundle up. According to weather.com, it's minus-12 in Pullman as I write this. Insert your cold-shooting joke here. And then read on.
COUGARS Looking at the Pac-10 standings this morning, you can see why WSU coach Tony Bennett challenged his team before yesterday's USC game and why he emphasized its importance. Besides Washington and its six wins being on top, which is strange enough, there are three…
COUGARS As Tony Bennett saw it, Washington State had enough open shots to win – and win big. Maybe, he said, they were too open at times. But he did admit, as he was talking about USC throwing multiple defenses at the Cougars early, the…
COUGARS What would you expect when the two best defensive teams in the Pac-10 get together? A drag-out defensive battle of course. And that's what it was Saturday at Friel Court, won by USC 46-44. Neither team shot worth a darn, with WSU hitting 14…
COUGARS USC coach Tim Floyd is the master of multiple defenses. So far today the Trojans have played a triangle-and-2 on Klay Thompson and Taylor Rochestie (something WSU worked against in practice), a box-and-1 (ditto), zone and man-to-man. All they've done is slow down an…
Vince Grippi's daily take on all things regional sports has been moved to our main sports section online. You can find a collection of these columns here.
