Beating UW evidence Cougs back on track

PULLMAN – Dick Bennett may or may not retire from coaching following this season, his third at Washington State.

The veteran coach came to the Palouse, it seemed, with two goals in mind. In no particular order, they were to create an opportunity for his son, Tony, to take over as a head coach when he left and, naturally, to bring a dormant WSU program to prominence.

The former became reality over the summer when WSU guaranteed the younger Bennett that he would be his father’s successor. The latter hasn’t happened yet – but Saturday night’s win at No. 10 Washington seems to have at least restored a healthy dose of respectability.

Need proof? Listen to the words of Huskies head coach Lorenzo Romar after the game. Listen to his players, too. All of the things that Bennett has preached to his team – toughness, confidence, discipline – all were on display both on the court and in their opponents’ remarks.

“What it came down to is they were a tougher, mentally tougher, team than we were,” Romar said.

Said senior forward Mike Jensen, “We let them psych us into playing their game a little bit.”

And Brandon Roy, whose foul trouble helped the Cougars climb back from an early 13-point deficit, said, “We didn’t play with that same energy all game.”

The Cougars’ head coach opined that this was not the best game his team had played from start to finish, citing the upset win at Arizona last year as the best 40-minute effort he had seen. (He could have easily thrown in a blowout win against Utah in December as well on that short list.)

But the Huskies had dominated WSU of late, and to turn that around on what might be the conference’s toughest road court is no small feat.

It certainly got the attention of the Washington coaches and players, who are sure to make their trip to Pullman on Feb. 4 a focal point. And it likely has the rest of the league looking at the Cougars with a raised eyebrow as well.

The Cougars showed they have the talent to compete in the Pac-10, a point Tony Bennett made in a not-too-subtle jab at FSN commentator Larry Farmer after the game. And they did so without point guard Derrick Low, lost five days before the game to a broken foot sustained in practice. WSU clearly doesn’t have any one player perfectly suited to replace Low’s steady hand in the backcourt, but Randy Green provided safe minutes and Kyle Weaver displayed an explosive, high-risk, high-reward game, even in tough spots.

“Our committee was OK,” Dick Bennett said. “The thing about trying to establish a program – if it’s going to deteriorate with the loss of one player, even as important as he is, it isn’t much of a program. I said, so this is as much a test of our ability to defend and get the kind of shots we can make. And I really believe that. Because losing players is part of the game and it’s going to happen.”

About the only thing the head coach would have wished for was a more subdued postgame celebration.

“Act like maybe this could happen again sometime,” Bennett half-jokingly pleaded in front of the microphones after the game. “Act like you’ve been there at least once or twice.”

Truth is, of course, that they haven’t been there any more than that. But if they continue to turn in performances like Saturday’s they just might get used to it before their head coach decides to hang it up for good.