WSU men’s basketball game Notes
vs. Kansas State in Spokane Wednesday evening Dec 20, 2017
WASHINGTON
STATE HOSTS KANSAS STATE AT SPOKANE ARENA:
• The
Washington State men’s basketball team (7-3) will host Kansas State (9-2) at
its home away from home, Spokane Arena, Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 8 p.m.
• The
game can be seen on ESPN2 as Eric Rothman (play-by-play) and Caron Butler
(analyst) have the call.
• All
season long, Cougar basketball can be heard on the Cougar IMG Sports Radio
Network as the voice of the Cougars, Matt Chazanow will have the call.
•
Please see page one of today’s notes for the list of affiliates.
• Live
stats are also available at www.wsucougars.com.
COUGARS
VS. WILDCATS:
•
Washington State and Kansas State are meeting for the eighth time in the two
schools’ histories, as Kansas State holds a 5-2 advantage in the series.
• The
Wildcats have won the last three meetings, last year’s game at the Sprint
Center in Kansas City, Mo., and a home-and-home series as part of what used to
be the Pac-10/Big-12 Hardwood Series.
•
Kansas State defeated Washington State, 70-56 last season, 63-58, Dec. 3, 2010
at Pullman and 86-69, Dec. 5, 2009 at Manhattan, Kan.
• The
teams met in back-to-back seasons, 2004-05 and 2005-06, as WSU defeated
K-State, 58-57, Dec. 3, 2005.
WSU VS.
THE BIG 12:
• The
Cougars have played nine of the 10 Big 12 schools, having not played Iowa
State.
• WSU
is 3-1 against Baylor, 0-2 against Kansas, 2-5 against Kansas State, 0-2
against Oklahoma, 1-1 against Oklahoma State, 1-3 against TCU, 0-2 against
Texas, 1-0 against Texas Tech and 1-0 against West Virginia.
• The
Cougars are 9-16 all-time against current members of the Big 12.
• Prior
to last season’s meeting with Kansas State, WSU last played a Big 12 team in
2015-16, an 88-60 loss to the Sooners who were ranked third in the country at
the time...the game took place at the Diamond Head Classic at Honolulu, Hawaii.
PRESIDENTAL
CONNECTION:
• Kirk
Schulz became president of Washington State University, June of 2016.
• Prior
to that, Schulz served as president and professor of chemical engineering at
Kansas State from 2009-16.
• His
wife, Noel, who is currently a professor in the school of electrical
engineering and computer science at WSU, also worked at Kansas State from
2012-16 where she was associate dean for research and graduate programs in the
College of Engineering.
…….
Leach agrees
to extension, raise
Coach to
earn $3.5 million next year, $4 million in 2020
By Dale Grummert, Lewiston Trib
Less than
three weeks after Mike Leach appeared on the verge of jumping ship, the
Washington State football coach has agreed in principle to a contract extension
and a raise.
The
agreement, announced Monday evening by the school, extends the five-year rollover
contract that began with Leach's arrival in 2012, and includes raises for his
coaching staff.
"Coach
Leach has led a spectacular turnaround in the fortunes of our football program
during the last six years, and we want to keep him in the Cougar family for a
long time to come," WSU president Kirk Schulz said in a statement.
Under the
revised agreement, Leach will earn $3.5 million next year, a raise of about
$400,000. His salary will jump to $3.75 million the following year and to $4
million in 2020. The year after that, he will receive a one-time retention
bonus of $750,000.
"Importantly,
our on-field football success has reaped dividends for the entire athletic
program, invigorating the interest of fans, boosting football season ticket
sales and increasing donor contributions to the Cougar Athletic Fund,"
Schulz said.
Leach will
also have an extra $400,000 at his disposal next year for his assistant
coaches. There have been several reports in recent days linking defensive
coordinator Alex Grinch with other assistant's jobs.
Early this
month, Leach was said to have met in Los Angeles with then-Tennessee athletic
director John Currie, eliciting several reports that he had accepted a job
offer. Currie was suspended the following day and eventually fired, but Leach's
name continued to be mentioned in connection with that and other openings in
the ensuing days. All of those vacancies have since been filled.
Leach has
led WSU to four bowl berths in the last five years, including a repeat
invitation this year from the Holiday Bowl. The No. 21 Cougars play No. 18
Michigan State at 6 p.m. on Dec. 28 at San Diego.
"Intercollegiate
athletics are a critical front door to every university," Schulz said in
his statement, "and the achievements led by coach Leach have raised the
visibility of WSU across the nation, which boosts our goal to become one of the
nation's top 25 public research universities by 2030."
Leach is the
first WSU coach to post three consecutive winning seasons since Jim Sutherland
in 1957-59. Washington State's football attendance has risen from 76.1 percent
of capacity the year before Leach's arrival to 97.1 percent in 2017, the news
release noted.
"I
would like to thank President Schulz and Washington State for their commitment
to Cougar football and appreciate his vision and leadership for WSU
athletics," Leach said in a statement. "We have accomplished some
great things in our time here and my staff and I are excited to lead WSU Cougar
football into the future. We can't wait to see what's in store for our
program."
The news
release mentioned that Schulz agrees with Leach that the Cougars need a
full-size indoor practice facility to replace the smallish "practice
bubble" the team now uses in severe weather conditions. Coaches have
talked about that need for years, but funding for such a project has yet to be
secured.
……….
WSU player
faces assault charges
By JOSH
BABCOCK Lewiston Trib
MOSCOW - A
reserve member of the Washington State football team was arrested last month
for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend at her Moscow apartment.
Defensive
back Grant Porter, 19, of Pullman, was charged with one count of misdemeanor
domestic battery on Nov. 14.
Porter
pleaded not guilty to the charge Nov. 15.
Bill
Stevens, spokesperson for WSU athletics, said Porter has been suspended from
all team activities since the incident occurred and will be until the conlusion
of the case.
A
second-year freshman from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Porter redshirted last
season and shows up nowhere in this year's statistics.
Porter is
accused of pushing his girlfriend on top of a dog kennel, grabbing her by the
ankles and pulling her to the floor after she refused to to turn off the
bedroom light while studying, according to court documents.
Shortly
thereafter, Porter allegedly pushed his girlfriend onto her bed "grabbed
her by the back of her neck and head" and began to shake her head,
according to court documents.
"Porter
told her if she called the cops he would put bullet holes in her door," as
stated in court documents.
He is also
accused of choking his girlfriend on two separate occasions this fall.
Porter is
not well known on the football field at the college level, but he was
recognized at a Pullman City Council meeting earlier this year for taking
action when it appeared that a man was attempting to commit suicide, back in
May. Porter and his girlfriend were given Life-Saving Awards by the Pullman
Police Department for their actions.
………………………………………………..
Schulz
responds to call for salary cuts
WSU
president rejects petition that calls for administrators to take pay cuts
By Taylor Nadauld, Moscow Pullman Daily
News
Washington
State University President Kirk Schulz rejected the recommendations of a
petition sent to his office late Thursday in which more than 1,000 people
called on WSU to significantly cut its administrators' salaries as an
alternative to department-wide budget cuts.
The petition
proposes administrators making $300,000 or more receive a pay cut of at least
30 percent. Administrators in the $200,000 range would receive a pay cut of at
least 20 percent and those in the $100,000 range would receive a pay cut of at
least 10 percent. In addition, the petition calls for administrators to
publicly identify and cut other administrative overhead such as travel budgets,
entertainment funds, start-up allowances and housing and relocation subsidies.
In his
response, published by the petition's spearheads Monday, Schulz wrote it
"would not be appropriate to ask one group of employees to bear the
disproportionate brunt of the spending reductions."
He also
listed several investments the university has made over the years as reasons to
start saving, including the launch of a new college of medicine in Spokane, a
new campus in Everett, a new SPARK classroom building in Pullman, the new Elson
S. Floyd Cultural Center, expansion of athletic facilities and two salary
increases for faculty and staff, as well as investments in a new museum of art
to open on the Pullman campus.
"When I
joined WSU a year and a half ago, I identified that we needed to move from a
period of spending to a period of saving," Schulz wrote.
The petition
comes in response to an announcement Schulz made in October that called for
sweeping budget cuts across departments to reduce WSU's $30 million deficit
spending by $10 million each year. Schulz announced each university unit had
been instructed to reduce its spending by 2.5 percent. Departments have been
instructed to keep that money in savings.
In addition,
Schulz announced several positions with Multicultural Student Services would
need to be cut. It has since been announced those positions will continue to be
funded. At the same time, Schulz declared WSU's Performing Arts program no
longer financially viable, and the program is expected to be canned by the end
of performance season.
Elizabeth
Siler, a clinical professor in the Department of English at WSU and a spearhead
of the petition, published Schulz's response in a press release Monday. She
wrote she had hoped for a more substantive response.
"President
Schulz's response seems rather ironic, given that current plans for balancing
the WSU budget would cut entire faculty and staff positions, eliminate the
Performing Arts Program, and reduce wages and stipends for some of WSU's lowest
paid workers," Siler wrote.
The
petition, crafted by Siler and Desiree Hellegers, an associate professor of
English at WSU Vancouver, has garnered more than 1,000 signatures since it was
posted Nov. 20.
It was
officially delivered to Schulz's office Thursday and to the Washington State
House Higher Education Committee on Friday.
……………………..
Ex-Washington
State receiver River Cracraft re-signs with Denver Broncos practice squad
UPDATED:
Mon., Dec. 18, 2017, 3:30 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson Spokane S-R
Former
Washington State wide receiver River Cracraft is getting a second chance with
the NFL’s Denver Broncos.
Cracraft
re-signed with the Broncos practice squad on Monday, exactly two months after
the club brought him on board the first time. Denver waived Cracraft a few days
after his first stint due to an injury, but the ex-Cougars pass-catcher
declared on Dec. 3 he was “back to 100%.”
Cracraft tweeted
a photo of a Broncos No. 15 practice jersey Monday morning announcing his
return.
The Rancho
Santa Margarita, California, native specialized at the slot receiver position
during his time at WSU. Cracraft finished his career second on the school’s
all-time catch leaderboard, with 218 receptions, 2,701 receiving yards and 20
touchdowns.
Cracraft
suffered an ACL injury during his senior season and went undrafted in the 2017
NFL Draft. He rehabbed well enough to earn a workout with New England Patriots
in September and got his shot with the Broncos about a month later.
……………
Cougar
Football
WSU and
football coach Mike Leach agree to five-year, $20-million extension
Originally
published December 18, 2017 at 3:00 pm Updated December 18, 2017 at 6:30 pm
Mike Leach
and WSU agreed to a five-year extension that will pay the coach nearly $20
million through the 2022 season.
By Stefanie
Loh Seattle Times
Washington
State football coach Mike Leach has agreed in principle to contract extension
that will pay him nearly $20 million over the next five seasons, WSU announced
Monday.
This new
provision in Leach’s contract continues the existing five-year rollover clause
from his original contract, which now extends through the 2022 season, and will
pay him $3.5 million in 2018, $3.75 million in 2019 and $4 million in 2020,
with a one-time retention bonus of $750,000 after the 2020 season.
“Coach Leach
has led a spectacular turnaround in the fortunes of our football program during
the last six years, and we want to keep him in the Cougar family for a long
time to come,” WSU President Kirk Schulz said in a news release. “Importantly,
our on-field football success has reaped dividends for the entire athletic
program, invigorating the interest of fans, boosting football season ticket
sales and increasing donor contributions to the Cougar Athletic Fund.”
The news
comes at a critical time for WSU, which is hoping to sign the bulk of its 2018
recruiting class on Wednesday, when the early signing period begins. There was
some uncertainty about Leach’s future in recent weeks, which led to uneasiness
within the fanbase, and caused Cole Cooper, the father of WSU’s coveted 2018
quarterback recruit Cammon Cooper, to tweet at Schulz on Dec. 15 asking Schulz
to “lock down Leach before we lose
recruits.”
After some
weeks of turmoil that saw Leach reportedly interview for the Tennessee head
coaching job, Leach’s contract extension should go a long way toward giving
recruits peace of mind and keep this recruiting class together.
According to
USA Today’s football coaching salary database, Leach’s 2017 salary of just
under $3.1 million ranked seventh among 11 Pac-12 coaches. (As a private
school, USC opted not to provide Clay Helton’s salary information to USA
Today.)
Leach’s 2018
salary of $3.5 million now ranks among the top six of the head coaches at those
same 11 Pac-12 schools, based on USA Today figures from 2017, and the announced
salaries of the four new Pac-12 head coaches who have been hired since the
conclusion of the regular season.
Per the news
release, Schulz and Leach “recognize the need for a new indoor practice
facility.” WSU will also increase its assistant coaches’ salary pool by
$400,000 for 2018, bringing WSU’s assistant coaching salary pool to $3.14
million. Based on the most recent 2017 figures from the USA Today assistant
coaching salary database, that bumps WSU from eighth to fifth among the 10
Pac-12 public institutions, barring pending raises for coaches at other
schools.
A
substantial amount of that $400,000 addition to the assistant coaches salary
pool is expected to go to defensive coordinator Alex Grinch if he decides to
stay at WSU. Grinch made $600,000 in 2017, and has been rumored as a popular
candidate for defensive coordinator jobs at other schools. Per the terms of his
present contract, Grinch was scheduled to make $625,000 in 2018.
Beginning in
January, new NCAA guidelines allowing schools to hire a 10th assistant coach
will also go into effect, and WSU is expected to hire a 10th assistant coach.
Leach has not addressed this issue recently, but said when the new rules were
unveiled in 2016 that this 10th assistant will likely coach defense.
In the news
release announcing his new deal, Leach said, “I would like to thank President
Schulz and Washington State for their commitment to Cougar football and
appreciate his vision and leadership for WSU Athletics. … We have accomplished
some great things in our time here and my staff and I are excited to lead WSU
Cougar Football into the future. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for our
program.”
Leach has
won 38 games in his six seasons — second most by any sixth-year head coach in
school history — and has taken WSU to
four bowl games in the last five seasons. But questions about his long-term
future at WSU arose this fall after athletic director Bill Moos left for
Nebraska, and deputy athletic director Mike Marlow left for Northern Arizona.
Moos and
Marlow were both instrumental in persuading Leach to come to WSU, and their
departures about two months apart raised questions about whether Leach would
stay in Pullman. This uncertainty came to a head on Nov. 30 when Leach
reportedly met then-Tennessee Athletic Director John Currie in Los Angeles to
interview for the Vols’ vacant head coaching job.
Currie was
subsequently fired by Tennessee, which then installed Phil Fulmer as athletic
director and hired Jeremy Pruitt as head football coach.
However,
Leach’s reported interview with Tennessee drew concern from WSU supporters and
alums.
Schulz has
repeatedly stressed that he understood the importance of keeping Leach in
Pullman, and he backed this up by announcing Leach’s raise on Monday.
………
FOOTBALL
Off Tackle
Empire, for Big Ten coverage
Holiday Bowl
Preview: Michigan State Spartans vs Washington State Cougars
By Andrew
Kraszewski Off Tackle Empire
Dec 19,
2017, 4:00am CST
==The Who
Michigan
State, 9-3 (7-2 B1G) vs Washington State, 9-3 (6-3 PAC-12)
All-time
series: MSU leads 5-2 (last matchup: 1977, WSU victory)
Line as of
press time: WSU -2.5
Over/under:
45.5
==The When
Thursday,
December 28, 9:00 EST, Fox
==The Where
SDCCU
Stadium, San Diego
==The Why
MSU
rebounded from a horrendous-in-all-ways 2016 to finish 2nd in the B1G East and
was in the division title hunt until about 30 seconds into the Ohio State game.
That loss, plus the non-conference defeat by Notre Dame and the 3OT loss to
Northwestern, placed MSU fairly high in the pecking order - BUT the Orange Bowl
took wisconsin, meaning the B1G did not get a Citrus Bowl invite this year.
Wouldn’t want vitamin C poisoning, or something. That, combined with the
Outback Bowl’s laughable decision to pass on both MSU and Northwestern, sent
MSU here.
Wazzu,
meanwhile, started the season 6-0 and rose as high as #5 in the country before
receiving a surprising roundhouse to the chops from Cal. The 3 losses Mike
Leach’s team took were all pretty bad, and sent WSU to the back burner
nationally. Nonetheless, they also finished 9-3 and, with Washington and USC
both off to NY6 bowls, the Cougs find themselves in a good bowl spot for a
third-place division finish.
==The What
Per Football
Outsiders’ S&P+ rankings, this should be a fairly even matchup. MSU
finished #27 by that metric; WSU was 31st.
You would
guess this matchup would be highlighted by a high-flying WSU offense against
the again-robust MSU defense; however, the stats indicated both teams were led
by their defenses. MSU’s offense struggled to a #106 S&P+ ranking; WSU’s
offense was better but not their typical selves at #57. Meanwhile, MSU did
field the #7 S&P+ defense, but WSU was better than you might have expected,
finishing a solid 23rd in that measure.
The straw
that stirs Wazzu’s quietly strong defensive drink is All-American DL Hercules
(!) Fata’ata, he of the 21.5 TFLs and 9.5 sacks. Wazzu doesn’t use a customary
defensive scheme, instead deploying what they call a “Speed defense” devised by
DC Alex Grinch, who sources confirm is indeed a mean one (and may be on his way
to the B1G).
You will
typically see 3 down linemen and a couple of hybrid players - a S/LB and a
LB/DE capable of doing a lot of different things. It’s a defense, however, that
deliberately traded size for speed, which has served them well against the
Pac-12’s tempo and pass-oriented offenses but may find itself challenged by
MSU’s preferred pro-style sets.
Offensively,
Luke Falk is the guy everyone has heard of for Wazzu, and with good reason, as
the senior has thrown for several miles’ worth of yardage in his career and is
the engine for this version of Mike Leach’s Air Raid. WSU doesn’t run much, but
does so efficiently with Jamal Morrow and James Williams. Normally, a team
dismissing their top receiver (Tavares Martin Jr.) before the bowl would be a
big problem, but if there’s a system built to withstand losing a wideout, this
would be it, as the Cougars have 4 other guys with at least 50 catches,
including both tailbacks.
Systematically,
Wazzu’s continued adherence to the doctrine of mesh, and how MSU deals with it,
will be determinative. The Spartans’ LBs really struggled against
Northwestern’s constant use of shallow and intermediate crossing routes, and
they will see much more of the same there.
To counter
it, MSU will need great games from LBs Joe Bachie and Andrew Dowell; Dowell in
particular might have the biggest impact on whether MSU stops this passing game
or not. Bachie, meanwhile, is your prototypical run-thumping MLB, but will need
to be good in coverage against a pair of tailbacks who might as well be slot
receivers. MSU could help themselves somewhat if the reinvigorated pass rush
gets home, but good luck hitting Falk fast enough.
Offensively,
MSU will likely be tempted to go back to its power run game against a smaller
defense, despite MSU’s poor results running the ball this season. LJ Scott took
the lead there after a slow start to the season, and QB Brian Lewerke can chew
up yards with his legs as well. But MSU’s offense worked best this year when it
put the ball in Lewerke’s hands and let him use a deep group of receivers, and
with essentially the entire passing game other than center Brian Allen
returning next year, banking on Lewerke’s current talent and remaining potential
should be the play here.
==The Call
Forget about
weather factors inuring to MSU’s benefit in relentlessly pleasant San Diego.
Dantonio and his staff might also have their biggest test of the year, facing
both an offense and a defense that break the B1G mold. But it’s worth noting
that they’ve generally been up for the task. I’ll lose some money here and take
MSU and the over, call it 34-28.
#
