Cougars rethink goals

PULLMAN – It’s not something that Washington State’s basketball coaches and players would like to own up to all that quickly.

But at 16-3, it’s undeniable. Their expectations are not what they used to be.

For much of the year, players have talked about wanting to qualify for postseason play as a goal. Given their record, that much appears to be a given. Now, it’s about more than just that.

“Well, we haven’t discussed it like it’s a team goal, but I’m pretty sure every guy here kind of has their sights set on the NCAA tournament,” junior Robbie Cowgill said. “That would be obviously what we’re wanting, and not necessarily expecting, because we’re not taking anything for granted. But I feel like that’s the direction we’re going.”

Not too long ago, such a statement would have seemed preposterous. But with WSU moving up in the rankings again Monday – No. 20 in the Associated Press poll and No. 18 in the coaches’ poll – talk of making and succeeding within that tournament doesn’t sound so foolish.

“A lot of people maybe place some unrealistic expectations on us, talking Final Four talk and all that,” senior Ivory Clark said. “Who knows? The sky’s the limit right now. We’re rolling.”

The Cougars have stressed humility all season long, a point of emphasis that seems to have served them well as they’ve garnered more and more attention.

But it’s getting tough for them to deny that they are a contender for some lofty titles, including that of Pac-10 champion.

“At this stage, yeah. We’re 5-2, so I have to say yes,” said head coach Tony Bennett, asked if his team is a contender for the conference’s top spot.

But then the coach quickly contradicted himself.

“Do you have a chance to win the league right now? I think it’s too early to say that.”

With 11 conference games left, plus the conference tournament, the 16 wins already represent WSU’s best total since 1995-96. One more victory will assure the Cougars a winning season for the first time since that same year.

It’s been two years more since WSU has visited the NCAA tournament, though, and were it not for that history the team’s fast start would probably have all the principals considering themselves a lock to make the field of 65.

But this being a program with so little past success – and these being players who have never seen the upper half of the Pac-10 standings, much less anything near top billing – there’s still a note of caution in the air.

“A very small part of me, it’s almost like you have a big lead in a game and you’re thinking, ‘Man, there’s way too much time on the clock,’ ” Cowgill said. “A little tiny bit of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop. But I feel confident in where we’re at. And I think that if we continue to play like we’re playing, that it’s not a fluke any more. We’re playing solid basketball.”