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WSU Men's Basketball

WSU associate coach Jim Shaw to return from medical scare for upcoming road trip

WSU associate head coach Jim Shaw chats with forward Kymany Houinsou during the Cougars’ game against Oregon State earlier this season.  (Courtesy of WSU Athletics)

PULLMAN – Washington State will likely get its men’s basketball defensive coordinator back this weekend.

Associate coach Jim Shaw, who missed Saturday’s game against Washington as he recovered from a medical scare, should be back on the bench for WSU’s games against Oregon State and Oregon, head coach Kyle Smith said.

Shaw initially exited early from the Cougars’ win over Colorado on Jan. 27. Officials escorted him from the bench to the locker room, where he spent the remainder of the game. He made it home after the game, per a WSU spokesman, but he needed to take more time to recover.

“It’s nothing major we’re worried about out there,” Smith said Tuesday.

The exact nature of Shaw’s medical situation is unclear, but it did cause him to miss action the past two games. Shaw mans WSU’s defense, which Smith felt is where his team suffered during Saturday’s game, allowing UW to 57% from the field, including 68% in the second half.

“I’m happy we won, but I knew I was gonna get an earful from coach Shaw about how we didn’t guard well enough,” Smith said. “He was right.”

Shaw is in his fifth season with WSU, coming over with Smith in time for the 2019-20 season. He spent four seasons as the head coach of his alma mater, Western Oregon, where he had a 102-30 overall record.

The Cougars (16-6, 7-4) travel to face Oregon State on Thursday and Oregon on Saturday.