Cougars formula lacking

It has been said by loyal Cougars fans, bandwagoners and the local media that “Cougar basketball” has arrived. However, some basketball pundits may disagree with this theory.

Although your season was good and you played in the “best conference” in America, let’s hope you learned a valuable lesson about real competition east of the Mississippi.

Your preseason schedule wasn’t exactly stellar competition. Surely, this type of basketball can’t possibly prepare you for the big stage in a regional semifinal against the No. 1 seed in the U.S.

Try the Gonzaga formula. Get yourself a private jet and log 20,000 to 25,000 miles to the East Coast and back to the West Coast a few times, playing the best competition that will agree to play you.

Start your season with a resume that can get you into the big dance, even if you are playing .500 ball in the Pac-10 Conference.

Let us be honest, you were just a few plays and a few calls from being a .500 team in your conference. The committee may have snubbed you because you rarely left the state of Washington prior to starting your conference season.

Good luck, Cougars fans. Now comes the hard part, keeping a good coach on the payroll and bringing in UCLA-type talent to play in Pullman to get back to the Big Dance.

Douglas J. Day

Spokane