Cougs aim for step up from opener
PULLMAN – In practice this week, head coach Dick Bennett and his staff had something on which to rely. Their Washington State University basketball team cruised to a 17-point win over Montana State in the season opener Friday night, but that included an ugly second half in which both teams scored 16 points.
Tonight, the Cougars will find out if they’ve improved since that first outing when they face Georgia Southern on Friel Court.
“At least we know what we have to do,” Bennett said. “We have to get better with the ball and a little more confident in our ability to shoot the ball.
“Defensively we’ve been fairly consistent. Offensively we’ve struggled to sustain some quality play, whether it’s poor handling or poor shooting, we just need to be a lot more consistent. We looked a lot like we did last year offensively. That hurt us.”
In that first game, freshmen Daven Harmeling, Josh Akognon, Robbie Cowgill and Kyle Weaver combined for 31 of the team’s 59 points. The quartet also chipped in 11 rebounds, four assists and four steals. But tonight, they’ll have a little more help as senior forward Shami Gill, the team’s leading rebounder last season, returns to the lineup after missing last week with sciatic pain.
“In early November, it started hurting a little bit,” Gill said. “I was getting a tingling feeling and some numbness in my legs. Day by day, it slowly got worse.
“It got to a point where the pain was constant, and they had to shut me down for a little bit.”
Gill is back to almost 100 percent, and the senior said he hopes to be at or near full speed by tipoff tonight.
His return should trigger a lineup shuffle by Bennett, as the coach will probably switch to a three-forward look instead of the three-guard offense he featured against Montana State. While Bennett still hasn’t committed to a starting five, both Gill and guard Isaiah Simmons, in place of Weaver, could get the nod tonight, although the minutes are still expected to be spread out.
The Georgia Southern Eagles haven’t been home in a week, as they recently finished playing at the Top of the World Classic in Alaska, the same tournament WSU participated in last season. Instead of flying home after Sunday’s finale, Georgia Southern stayed in the Northwest and arrived in Pullman on Monday.
The Eagles went 1-2 in Fairbanks, defeating Division II Alaska-Fairbanks by three and losing to Utah State and Portland, a team the Cougars will play in December.
Guard Elton Nesbitt leads a speedy attack and scored 13.3 points a game in the tournament.
“They will certainly have their game reactions a little more honed. But you know, it’s just hard to say,” Bennett said. “I have great respect for their program. They won 21 games last year and they have tremendously quick guards.”
Notes
The Cougars are getting some more good news on the injury front. Power forward Chris Henry has participated in some team drills as he continues to recover from an ankle injury suffered before the beginning of fall practices. “He was mixing it up in there, and that’s a good sign,” coach Dick Bennett said. “I believe they’ve given him the green light to do as much as he can.” His return may shift freshman Daven Harmeling to a spot on the wing, instead of inside. … Freshman point guard Derrick Low has been in uniform this week, shooting and running individually as he mends from a broken foot, an injury that occurred in the third practice of the year. His return date is still uncertain, but it doesn’t appear it would be any later than the mid- to late-December estimate that has been in place since the injury. … The Cougars will spend most of Thanksgiving in Pullman, but are busing to Spokane on Thursday night so they can catch an early morning flight on Friday as they travel to Manhattan, Kan., for Saturday’s game at Kansas State.