Sophomore surge: Group of second-year players key to Eastern Washington’s success

Among the reasons Cedric Coward chose to transfer to Eastern Washington before this season, one was that he wanted to get better at playing the game of basketball.

Coward was a decorated high school athlete at Central High School in Fresno, California. During his first year of college basketball, he starred at Division III Willamette, earning freshman of the year honors and a first-team All-Northwest Conference selection.

But on the way to all that, he was mostly riding his natural talent.

“I was confident in myself,” Coward said, “but I didn’t know how to actually play basketball at a high, high level until I got here.”

Players at Eastern have talked a lot during this season about how they have developed as individuals, how coaches have helped them grow and unleash more aspects of their game.

There is no group, perhaps, that better exemplifies the importance of that development than the team’s four primary post players, each of whom happens to be a sophomore.

For as much as the Eagles have relied on the play of their leading scorers Steele Venters, Angelo Allegri and Tyreese Davis during their nation-best 15-game winning streak, the play of those four – Casey Jones, Ethan Price, Dane Erikstrup and Coward – has been crucial.

“They’re all guys that can help you win right away, which is not always the case for sophomores,” said EWU coach David Riley, who helped recruit all four of them. “Usually, they’re just trying to find their way on the court, but these guys are (already playing at) a high level.”

And, Riley said, “none of them are at their ceiling yet.”

That bodes well for the future and present of an Eagles team that leads the Big Sky with a 13-0 conference record, a mark the Eagles (19-7 overall) will put on the line at 6 p.m. Thursday against last-place Northern Arizona (7-20, 3-11) at Reese Court in Cheney.

Freshmen at Eastern last season, Price and Jones have started all of the team’s conference games this season and have played the fourth- and fifth-most minutes on the team behind Allegri, Venters and Davis.

But Coward and Erikstrup – along with senior guard Deon Stroud – have provided significant minutes off the bench: Coward averages 21.5 per game, Erikstrup 13.8. Both those counts have been on a steady uptick during conference play.

Either Price or Erikstrup or Jones or Coward are almost always on the court together in games, and in practices they are often going against each other.

“We’re all really close, too, and because we all play in the same range of positions,” Coward said, “we’re around each other all the time.”

Each, though, brings something a bit different.

Price, Riley said, has continued to make smart offensive decisions, something that doesn’t show up on a stat sheet.

“It honestly stands out the most in film because every clip, I try to ask questions, and usually the questions are directed at Ethan,” Riley said, “because he’s the one making so many decisions out there.”

Price has also made the third-most 3-pointers on the team (30 of 76 attempts) and has a team-high 23 blocks.

Right behind him in blocks is Coward (with 17), who continues to show his versatility, averaging 7.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

“He fits wherever we need him to fit,” Riley said. “He can do everything.”

The first piece of the puzzle for Coward, Riley said, was to fortify his inside game. Lately, they’ve moved on to his outside skills, the goal being to develop him into a complete player, Riley said.

It’s the process Coward said he craved when he came to Eastern, and it’s one the entire team embraces.

“Everybody here has gotten better, whether it’s mentally, physically, their basketball skill or basketball IQ,” Coward said. “Everybody’s gotten better.”

Erikstrup – whom Jones and Riley said is the most effective player at stopping Venters during 1-on-1 drills in practice – started slowly from 3-point range, making just one of his first 14 attempts. Since then, he has made 15 of 31, giving the Eagles another inside-out player for opponents to deal with.

“He’s just confident, knows who he is (and is an) incredible scorer,” Riley said of Erikstrup. “He reminds me so much of (former EWU forward) Tanner (Groves) early on. As the game slows down for him and the way he works, he’s going to be an absolute nightmare (for opponents).”

Then there is Jones, who can make 3s like the rest of the starters (13 of 44 this year) and is the team’s leading rebounder at 5.8 per game.

Riley also noted the “momentum plays” Jones so frequently makes: taking charges, blocking shots, deflecting passes and grabbing rebounds. Riley said that Jones exemplifies how defense doesn’t need to simply be about not making the wrong play, but that it can be about making plays that are momentous in their own right.

“From last year to this year, I’ve gotten so much better,” Jones said. “A lot of it is mental and being a student of the game, watching a film a ton. The way that they coach things and the way I get better isn’t always by more work.”

Jones said that sometimes he and Price do talk about the future, how the Eagles should have a good team again next year. But that’s not blinding him from enjoying the run this team is on now.

“It’s been a fun season,” Jones said. “It’s amazing to be a part of it.”