A Grip on Sports: Kirby Moore arrives in Pullman and immediately shows he has a handle on what’s needed to win at Washington State

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There is so much going on. This time next Tuesday? Washington State will have played its bowl game – and the Kirby Moore Era will have begun. A week from tonight? Christmas Eve. In a month? Gonzaga will be deep in its last WCC season. We are about to be blown away by near-hurricane winds.

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• That last one has more import here, though, than any of the other items we mentioned. The wind is howling around the old homestead this morning. It arrived later than expected and not quite as powerful as predicted. But it is bad enough.

The lights are flickering. The windows are rattling. And the idea of losing power at some point looms large. In anticipation of that, we wrote quickly, got the column up on the website and filled in as needed.

• Where to start? In Pullman. Where Moore did what coaches have done quite often since Mike Price decided the time was right to move to the SEC. (Spoiler alert: It wasn’t.)

Moore sang the fight song. He posed for pictures. He got to see Butch up close and personal. And he spoke.

Of all the coaches hired since Price finished his 14-year run, Moore understands Washington State and Pullman better than probably all but one or two. That knowledge doesn’t guarantee success – what does? – but it helps. Especially if he knows enough to know what he doesn’t know about the place. And hire someone on staff who can fill in the gaps.  

After listening to what Moore has to say, I would be shocked if he didn’t make such a move. And a whole bunch of other correct ones. He’s young. He’s smart. He’s experienced and he’s well-versed in the idiosyncrasies of Eastern Washington.

The football experience comes in three parts. He’s from a football family and has been immersed the game since he wore Huggies. He played at a high level. And he’s coached at that level, serving under some bright minds.

The Cougar brain trust of president Elizabeth Cantwell and interim athletic director Jon Haarlow deserve some credit for finding a good fit in a short time after the one-year tenure of Jimmy Rogers. Tuesday’s introduction to the faithful and the ensuing media scrum only reinforced that.

He won the day. Now all he has to do is bring honor and glory to the Crimson and Gray.

• Be patient. Even in this new era, Moore will be faced with some roster challenges. And unlike his predecessor, he doesn’t have a built-in supply of former players to draw from. No FCS power to plunder. No ready-for-prime-time group to attract to the new-look Pac-12.

Next season could be tough. And impatience among Cougar fans won’t help.

Never forget Price, who finished with as many wins as any WSU coach not nicknamed Babe, took four years to make a bowl game. Leach’s first three seasons were met with skepticism (I have first-hand knowledge, as I was part of the postgame call-in radio show those years), even though he broke even and took the Cougars to the New Mexico Bowl in year two.

Give Moore four years – if he stays that long considering today’s coaching climate – of support and success will happen.

• The Zags are home tonight. Eastern Washington and Washington State play in Spokane as well. It will be interesting to see if there are enough college basketball fans in the area to fill the Kennel – certainly – and the Arena – hopefully – at the same time.

Funny thing, though. The coach of the team visiting McCarthey has deep connections with one of the teams playing in the Arena.

John Andrzejek wasn’t just an assistant under Kyle Smith at WSU, he was Smith’s top recruiter. High school and travel coaches who had players they felt were good enough to play for the Cougars back then – Smith was in Pullman from 2019 to 2024 – talked with Andrzejek first. And often.

Andrzejek was the point person on many of the players who would make Smith’s tenure a successful one – and, after Smith left for Stanford, populate rosters in the NBA and among Power 5 schools to this day.

He served the same role for Todd Golden – they had connections through Gonzaga conference foe USF – at Florida. And did it just as well, helping the Gators to the NCAA title last season.

He’s in charge now. And visiting McCarthey in another role (6 p.m., KHQ).

• Less than a couple miles away Dan Monson will spend another night in the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena having made a different journey. He was in Spokane when the Arena was being built. He was on the bench as a Zag assistant in their first game in the place – a 67-62 overtime loss to Washington State. It was the facility’s first college basketball game. He has coached there more than once.

Now Monson plays a different role. He’s Eastern’s head coach, in his second season after replacing David Riley. On the other bench? That would be Riley, also in his second season with the Cougars.

Neither team has had a lot of success this season. Both have eight losses. Riley’s team has played 11 games, Monson’s 10. Only one can win tonight in what’s called the 509 Classic (7 p.m., SWX).

• Want to give yourself a pre-Christmas gift? Head down to the Arena clad in whatever shade of red sweatshirt you have in your closet. And root for whichever of this area’s public universities you prefer. It should be fun.

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WSU: Moore’s introduction impressed Dave Boling. So much so, in fact, in his column Boling compared Moore to current Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald. Pretty high praise indeed considering Seattle’s current success. … One of the bigger wins Moore posted yesterday? He didn’t pledge undying loyalty to the school. Cougar fans have heard that enough, and watched it be nothing more than a platitude, to be wary of the vow. Greg Woods has this story (also linked above) on what Moore did say and another on the money Washington State is earmarking for him and his staff. … The festivities didn’t stop a couple players from become names covered in Greg’s updated transfer portal tracker. … I linked above Dan Thompson’s preview of tonight’s men’s game at the Arena. And I do it again here. … The women’s basketball team dropped to 1-11 on the season with a 74-65 loss at Seton Hall. … Retired Seattle Times sportswriter, and my friends, Bud Withers is still pounding the keyboard. He has a book out on the Apple Cup rivalry. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, the conference as we knew it for decades is no longer with us. But the players are. And are making an impact in the NFL still. … Jon Wilner has some thoughts on the Big 12’s plan to attract outside capital (it is different than the one the Big Ten came up with). … He also has his basketball power rankings for the Big 12. … John Canzano has a notebook that covers a lot, including Moore’s introduction in Pullman. … The ACC announced yesterday it will have a few teams play nine conference games next season. That impacts the rivalry series between Stanford and San Jose State. … Just how good could the Huskies be if Jedd Fisch stays at Washington? … JaMarcus Shephard has shown a lot already in his short time in Corvallis. … Oregon not only is in the CFP, it was able to redshirt 11 of its 18 true freshmen. … The Ducks host James Madison, maybe the last true underdog that will ever earn a playoff berth. … A star Utah offensive lineman is leaving. For the NFL. How old-school. … The USC starting quarterback will return for next season. … Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham has made it clear how he feels about leaving for the Michigan job. And yet the rumors persist. … Bowl games mean new roles for assistant coaches for just about every team. … Jim Mora is keeping at least one coordinator at Colorado State. 

• In basketball news, has this been the best start to a college season ever? Like beauty, that is in the eye of the beholder. … The new-look Washington men are finally starting to get healthy. … Oregon hosts Portland tonight. … Colorado faces Portland State. … USC will not play Brown on Sunday. The game was cancelled in the aftermath of the recent mass shooting on the Brown campus. … Arizona had no trouble with Abilene Christian, winning 96-62. Now the Wildcats have to move on. Quickly. … San Diego State hosts Air Force. … The Colorado women handled Northern Colorado. … UCLA held a reunion in the Bruins’ rout of Cal Poly. … An Arizona player scored a career high in a recent win. 

Gonzaga: Last year at this time, Andrzejek was part of a soon-to-be magical run at Florida. Now he brings his Campbell team to the Kennel, a place he’s familiar with. Theo Lawson has a preview, which I linked above as well. … There is also Theo’s key matchup to link. … He also has a story on Graham Ike winning a weekly national award. … The Arizona State women came into McCarthey on Tuesday night carrying an impressive 12-0 record. And left it still without a loss, as they held off Gonzaga for a 68-66 victory. But that tells only a small part of the story. Greg Lee shares the rest of it and what a story it is. … Back to the men, there is another episode of the Zags Basketball Insiders Podcast, featuring Jim Meehan and Richard Fox, to listen to. You can here.

Idaho: The Vandals have hired a new offensive coordinator. And Skip Shoemaker’s name is familiar to football fans in the area, having overseen EWU’s offense a few years ago. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Weber State has found its football coach. In the high school ranks. Eric Kjar has been extremely successful, winning six Utah state titles in eight years. … Montana feels as if it is playing its best football at the right time. … The Griz and Montana State each had seven players on the AP All-American team. … Northern Colorado had one. … UC Davis had a successful season. … In basketball news, the Montana women faded down the stretch and lost at Houston. … The Montana State men breezed past host Cal Poly. 

Whitworth: The Pirate men traveled to Southern California to face one of the better Division III teams in the region, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The undefeated Stags pinned a 73-62 loss on Whitworth on Tuesday night.

Preps: The rivalry season began last night in Cheney. The Railroad Rumble. The Blackhawks and the Rogers Pirates meeting at Reese Court. Cheney won both games. Dave Nichols was there for the girls’ game, not just for the hoop but also for the atmosphere. … Dave then traveled to Gonzaga Prep to catch the nonleague game between the Bullpups and Mt. Spokane. The Wildcats pulled away in the second half for a 61-46. … There were other games played throughout the region yesterday and you can catch up with this roundup.  

Chiefs: Spokane hosted Portland and did pretty much the same thing it did less than a week earlier. The Chiefs won in a 9-2 blowout.

Seahawks: The Rams were determined to move up in the draft a couple years ago. They wanted to pick Byron Murphy II before the Hawks could get their hands on him. Los Angeles was just not determined enough. It has started to haunt them a bit. … There is a lot at stake Thursday night when the teams meet in Seattle (and on Amazon Prime). … Who will win? … Sam Darnold will have to play better for the Hawks to win. Or the defense, keyed by the guys up front, will has to be near-perfect. Again. 

Mariners: There is a backup catcher on the roster. Seattle signed veteran Andrew Knizner to a one-year contract Tuesday. … The Mariners seem to be active in the trade market. 

Sounders: Seattle signed a midfielder from Federal Way. 

Kraken: Ten games, nine losses. Is that bad? Yes it is. The latest loss came Tuesday night against Colorado.

Sonics: Could Adam Silver actually have woke up from his slumber? The NBA commissioner – at least that is his title – said this week an expansion decision will be made in 2026. And Seattle is one of the two top choices. 

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• There is not as much here as usual. I know. Mainly it is because I wanted to focus on the local report before anything bad could happen. It takes a lot longer to put together this report when you are saving your work after every keystroke. Until later …