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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

A Grip on Sports: Sometimes it takes longer than it should to filter out the noise and make the appropriate evaluation of a player like Cedric Coward’s potential

A GRIP ON SPORTS • And here I thought my hearing was disappearing. Fading away. And all the while it turns out it is fine. It is the TV shows that have changed. That’s a relief. Now back to our regularly scheduled rant about, well, my other failings. Maybe I’ll even turn up the volume a bit this morning. Or supply subtitles.

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• Every once in a while I find a story in the morning that helps make my understanding of the world around me a little clearer. That happened twice today. The first one I have already linked. It explains why more and more of us use subtitles while watching “Dept. Q” or “Andor” these days.

The other one? Matt Norlander’s in-depth piece for CBS Sports on another soon-to-be local NBA legend, Cedric Coward.

It’s a story that covers Coward’s background in minute detail, from his time growing up in Fresno to his post-injury days in Pullman. It’s so detailed, in fact, Norlander’s story has done something that only happens on rare occasions. It helped change my mind.

I’ve learned a valuable lesson over the years. Never, ever, make snap judgments about athletes. And their potential. Lessons driven home by embarrassing mistakes following one game or practice or conversation. That was then. Now? I make my mistakes with a lot more data. After longer contemplation. With considerable input.

No one’s judgment is 100% perfect. Mainly because no one can see the future, other than those folks who work for the Department of Temporal Investigations or the Time Variance Authority.

OK, I spend too much time streaming. But not so much I don’t watch our local college basketball teams play. And, because of that, I’ve felt pretty well versed in Coward’s game.

After all, I knew about Coward back when he played at Willamette, dammit, because I keep up with Whitworth basketball. I watched him play quite a few games for Eastern Washington, even seeing him deal with a road atmosphere at one point. And I tuned in a couple times during his short, pre-injury stint last season at Washington State.

Enough to form an opinion. And that opinion? I wondered just how Coward’s skills would translate to the NBA. If they would, actually. But now, after delving into the mounting evidence, not just recently but building up from his EWU days through his flirtation with Duke, I’m pretty sure that opinion is wrong.

It’s not as if I didn’t know before today how Coward’s past has shaped his present. All the facts have been presented before, most notably back in 2023, when Dan Thompson first shared Coward’s family history with S-R readers. And continued to share tidbits throughout Coward’s two years in Cheney. But facts are one thing. How those who have come into contact with Coward on his journey feel about him is another. And, by “another” I mean “more important.”

Yes, as the silly cliché goes, it’s impossible to measure heart. But it’s easy to measure how people who have come into contact with your subject measure that person’s. And then trust those measurements.

Certainly, there are no guarantees. Again, there is no way of looking into the future and seeing how Coward’s NBA journey will play out. But no matter where it ends up, no matter how it starts this Wednesday (and it would seem most appropriate Coward falls and falls and falls), I am no longer going to doubt him.

In fact, if he ends up being the last guy in the green room, I might just call my (non-existent) bookie and put down two grand he will be the league’s MVP someday. And bet that, not too long down the road, there will be an ESPN or Netflix of HBO documentary on his career we will all want to watch. With the subtitles on, of course.

After all, we’ve lived the first few episodes. Know the plot. All we are waiting for is Cedric Coward to supply the dénouement so we can stand and cheer.

And say we never had a doubt.

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WSU: Yes, we linked the Coward story above. We do it once more here in the Washington State section. Probably could do it once more in the EWU one if we wanted. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, John Canzano has a good column on how hard it is these days to be a die-hard fan of a team. … Jon Wilner has a Mercury News column that looks back at the week. He mentions Washington State’s decision to drop the field part of track and field. … Arizona State has almost a dozen players on a preseason All-Big 12 football team. … Recruiting never stops in Utah. … Nothing stops those unsung heroes who work in the football equipment rooms around the nation. … In basketball news, former UCLA coach Ben Howland took the Bruins to back-to-back Final Fours. It wasn’t enough for him to keep the job in perpetuity. … In baseball news, LSU took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three College World Series final series, as the Tigers rode Kade Anderson’s left arm to a 1-0 win over Coastal Carolina. The win snapped Coastal’s 26-game winning streak. The series continues today. … On the softball front, Washington picked up a former California star in the portal. 

Gonzaga: Speaking of players who we believe will be successes on the next step in their basketball journey, we give you Braeden Smith. It’s been years since we saw Smith play, back when he was just starting high school. But, again, we trust the judgment of others, including people who coached him back then and those who have interacted with him on and off the court during his redshirt season at Gonzaga. One of them is Theo Lawson, who has this in-depth story on Smith, the Zags’ point-guard in waiting.

Idaho: Back in 1981-82, I had the great privilege of being able to cover the second-best feel-good story of that West Coast college basketball season, the UC Irvine Anteaters. And, yes, I believed at the time the Eaters were actually the best one. In their second season under Bill Mulligan, a larger-than-life former JC coach who got his Division I chance at one of the least-thought-of schools in America, the Anteaters began the season 9-0. And 17-1. Led by first-team All-American Kevin Magee, they seemed destined for big things. They weren’t, ending up three games behind 11th-ranked Fresno State in the PCAA standings and shunted off to the NIT. By then even this So Cal kid knew there was a better story up north. In Moscow, Idaho, even though I might not have been quite sure where Moscow was. The Vandals under Don Monson started out their season as hot as UCI – and stayed that way. They burst onto the national scene, were ranked as high as eighth in the A.P. poll and went on to make the NCAA’s Sweet Sixteen. Now, Monson’s team has earned one more honor. It will be inducted into the Hooptown Hall of Fame this week. Dave Boling delves into their accomplishments in this column. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana State has an opening in its athletic administration.

Indians: Everett infielder Luis Suisbel hit two home runs, the second lifting the AquaSox to a 3-2 win in 10 innings at Avista Stadium.

Velocity: Neco Brett’s first goal of the season was enough to give Spokane a 1-0 win over host Richmond on Saturday night. John Allison has all the details in this story.

Mariners: The story about Emerson Hancock and his new attitude we linked yesterday morning? That attitude didn’t help Saturday afternoon in Chicago. He was rocked as the M’s lost 10-7 despite another Cal Raleigh home run. … Raleigh is finally starting to get his national due. … Colt Emerson is powering his way to the top of the Mariners’ prospect list. … Donovan Solano has been hitting better lately. 

Kraken: Seattle made a couple of moves yesterday, including trading winger Andre Burakovsky.

Sonics: It’s been a while since the NBA finals have come down to a winner-take-the-title-home seventh game but that’s where we are tonight (5, ABC). Who will win? Will it be the visiting Indiana Pacers, with Andrew Nembhard at the point? Or will Oklahoma City, with Chet Holmgren defending the rim, defend home court? If history tells us anything, it’s that it should be a tight, taut game. … Lenny Wilkins is almost always part of the Sonic conversation, from beginning to end. And now there will be a statue of him outside Climate Pledge Arena.

Storm: After a dreadful 2024 season beyond the arc, Seattle is the WNBA’s most efficient team from there this season.

Sounders: Yes, Seattle is still alive in its group, despite losing its first two matches. There is a narrow path for the Sounders to win and move on to the knockout round in the Club World Cup. … The weather around the U.S. hasn’t cooperated all that well.

Reign: A 4-1 rout in Salt Lake City allowed Seattle to finish its road trip on a high note.

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• Wow, I wrote a lot today. Enough to make my fingers hurt and the dog to wonder what was taking so long. Until later …