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Jacob Thorpe

Jacob Thorpe

Current Position: Sports columnist

Jacob Thorpe is a freelance sports columnist covering Washington State football.

All Stories

Sports

Cougars come through in close opener

PULLMAN – The Washington State basketball team wasn’t as crisp or efficient as coach Ken Bone would have liked in its 62-56 season-opening win over Cal State Bakersfield. Still, after losing 10 games by five or fewer points last season, the coach was happy the team was able to win a close one.
Sports

Cougar reserves get chance to impress during bye week

PULLMAN – There may not be a game this weekend for the Washington State football team’s starters to prepare for, but for the younger players who line the sidelines on Saturdays this was as important a week as any. The Cougars may have a bye, but the redshirting freshmen and other underclassmen still took part in Thursday Night Football, a full-contact scrimmage that allows the players to showcase their week-to-week improvement in front of coaches who often don’t have time to pay them much attention during a week of game preparation.
Sports

Cougars open basketball season vs. Roadrunners

The Washington State men's basketball team opens its season tonight in Beasely Coliseum against Cal State Bakersfield. The Roadrunners are looking for their first win against a Pac-12 opponent in 13 tries.
Sports

WSU football gets back to work

There may not be a game this weekend for the Washington State football team’s starters to prepare for, but for the younger players who line the sidelines on Saturdays this was as important a week as any.
Sports

Washington State men’s basketball five keys to success

1 Wings must step up. Forward Brock Motum is gone and he took his 18.7 points per game with him. That’s nearly 30 percent of last season’s scoring that the Cougars will need to replace, and the burden of filling Motum’s sizable shoes will fall largely on WSU’s wing players. Royce Woolridge and DaVonte Lacey averaged 11.0 and 10.5 points per game last season, respectively, and will need get those numbers up a tick. A dark horse to score more points is 6-foot-7 junior guard Dexter Kernich-Drew. The Australian is a capable shooter and a gifted athlete. If he can put those skills together he could assume some of his departed countryman’s scoring load. 2 Improve rebounding. The Cougars finished dead last in rebounding a season ago and Motum was their leading rebounder. If WSU is to find success this season the team will need to do a much better job of corralling missed shots. The backcourt has size and can contribute to the effort, and sophomore Junior Longrus was active on the boards in WSU’s exhibition game against Central Washington, collecting 10 in 22 minutes.
Sports

WSU big man D.J. Shelton has put weight of Cougars’ season on his shoulders

PULLMAN – A day after Washington State’s 64-62 loss to Washington in the first round of last season’s Pac-12 tournament, D.J. Shelton was in the weight room. It was the first step in a transformative offseason that has seen the forward add more than 25 pounds to his frame. “I changed my body a lot. I was 230 pounds last year, now I’m like 256,” Shelton said.
Sports

Pac-12 conference power rankings

PULLMAN – After this week, we may have a new No. 1 atop these power rankings. If not, who knows when the Ducks will finally vacate their perch? The Cougars have this weekend off, but their next opponent, Arizona, will host UCLA in a surprisingly big game for both teams. The Bruins have looked great this season but have two Pac-12 losses, albeit to the conference’s two best teams. Arizona, on the other hand, is riding a three-game winning streak. Both teams will be looking for a win to show that their success wasn’t merely a facade.
Sports

Real race going on in the South

PULLMAN – The race for the Pac-12 North title may effectively end this weekend when No. 2 Oregon visits No. 6 Stanford. But the race in the South division is just starting to heat up. What looked like UCLA’s division to lose is ripe for Arizona State’s taking, and Arizona and once-forgotten USC are lurking on the fringes of contention.
Sports

Pac-12 notes: Handicapping South race

The race for the Pac-12 North title may effectively end this weekend when No. 2 Oregon visits No. 6 Stanford. But the race in the South division is just starting to heat up.