Coug Women's Basketball: WSU,
WHICH BEAT NEBRASKA WILL PLAY KANSAS, WHICH LOST TO NEBRASKA
Next game for WSU Women's
Basketball, coached by Kamie Ethridge, will see the Cougars playing the
Jaywalks of the University of Kansas, coached by Brandon Schneider, in Las
Vegas in a 'Duel in the Desert' game starting at 2:30 o'clock in the afternoon
of Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, in Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus.
WSU has a 4-5 win-loss
season record. Kansas is 7-1.
For comparison, Cougs beat
NEBRASKA 87-84 in two overtimes on Nov. 16 in Pullman. Only loss this season
for Kansas was by a 58-52 score in Lincoln, Neb., to NEBRASKA.
Kansas sports info
"scouting report" on the Cougs says, "Like the Jayhawks, WSU
gets off to a hot start, outscoring its opponents 341-260 in the first half,
while the Cougars' opponents have outscored them 351-271 in the second half.
Washington State is averaging 69.9 points, while dishing out 14.9 assists in
nine games thus far.
"Defensively, the Cougars allow their opponents to shoot
42.4 percent from the field, but just 29.6 percent from long range. Three
Cougars lead the offensive charge, averaging double-digit scoring efforts.
Borislava Hristova leads the way with 21.7 points, while Chanelle Molina and
Alexys Swedlund conclude WSU's double-figure scorers with 15.1 and 11.7,
respectively. Maria Kostourkova leads the Cougars' defensive efforts with 9.8
rebounds and 1.4 blocks."
Another 'Duel in the Desert'
game in Las Vegas at Cox Pavilion on Wed., Dec. 19, is Northwestern and Wichita
State at 5 p.m. "The Desert Division concludes on Dec. 20 with the
third-place game at 2:30 p.m. and the division championships at 5 p.m."
Winners of the WSU vs.
Kansas and Northwestern vs. Wichita State will play each other on Dec. 20.
Likewise, losers of those game will play each other, too, on Dec. 20. Tipoff
times to be announced.
Thus, there's potential WSU
(Washington State University Cougars) will play WSU (Wichita State University Shockers)
on Dec. 20.
According to Flohoops website,
both the Cougars and Jayhawks come off 10-day layoffs.
:::::::::::::
Coug men’s basketball rides out the storm, beat
Rider of New Jersey
By Colton Clark Lewiston Trib Dec 18, 2018
PULLMAN -
Perhaps all the approximately 400 in attendance knew of Washington State's
Monday night opponent was that its "R" resembles that of a certain
insignia on one of the Palouse's beloved brews.
Rider, a
MAAC team from New Jersey - which made the NIT last year - does boast that
cursive, red letter at the start of its university tag, and the scanty number
of spectators more than likely were thirsting for a bit of Rainier, as the
incredibly odd and long-running scuffle wound down at Beasley Coliseum.
They
became resonantly irritable with the horde of whistles in a seemingly endless
second half - WSU took a myriad of free throws, led by as much as 21 early on,
and by as little as seven in the final minutes.
But what
once was glee, which morphed into indignation, likely transformed into relief,
as the Cougs stayed unbeaten at home, avoiding a Broncs comeback and lurching
their way past Rider's dense second-half press, 94-80, with overall passable
play and a program-record 39 freebies made (on 51 attempts).
"It
hasn't been a point of emphasis. Just, if they give you a layup, take a
layup," said coach Ernie Kent on his team getting into the paint.
"Down the stretch, we wanted to pound it inside a little bit more because
we knew they needed to foul. They fouled a lot to keep the game where it needed
to be."
Though
it's not like WSU's first half - and the initial few minutes of the second -
weren't active and impressive. During a six-minute stretch late in the first,
the Cougs (6-3) used facilitation, well-coordinated transition offense and
lock-up perimeter defense, sprinting to a 23-2 run after being down by seven.
They never
trailed again, although Rider (4-4) did make a game of it late, much to the
agony of any remaining onlookers.
"One
thing that we harp on at practice we call them kills - that's when we get three
stops in a row," said CJ Elleby, who logged 16 points, seven boards and
three thefts. "We got a bunch of kills and a bunch of stops. That lets the
offense transition stops, and easy buckets in transition."
The span
was sparked by consecutive 3s from Robert Franks and Carter Skaggs, persisted
via a litany of Rider mishaps - the Broncs didn't score for about four minutes
- and was stamped with Elleby free throws, pushing the advantage to 14.
Then at
the onset of the second, WSU continued to "kill." It began with an
explosive, hammer-down dunk from Marvin Cannon, who Kent said "came to the
party," what with his 23 points and 15-of-16 showing at the charity
stripe.
"Coach
Kent preached that (they) foul a lot so we just tried to drive the ball hard,"
Cannon said. "We practice free throws every day so it just came second
nature."
That
incited another tad of camaraderie, considering almost everyone contributed to
an 11-0 scoring frenzy that gave Wazzu its largest lead at 21.
"I
attribute that to the character of our team and just how hard they played. We
haven't played this hard in a while," Kent said. "I thought the first
two or three games of the season, I felt like our defense could control games
and we got back to that tonight at times."
Rider, a
"very skilled team," said Kent, didn't help itself - it committed 17
turnovers, oftentimes looked frantic on offense and had 33 fouls. And although
WSU has had its clear bungles with defense, the Cougars performed adequately,
enough to maintain a double-digit lead for most of the contest.
"We
had nine straight stops in a row in the first half," Kent said. "Then
to start the second half, we had seven straight stops. There were eight times
in the game where we got three straight stops."
WSU was
tallying at will, and obstructing the Broncs - that is, until the end was in
sight.
Midway
through the second, after succumbing to but settling the Cougars' scoring
spree, the Broncs applied a full-court press, and the Cougs began to give it
away (18 total turnovers). Rider, behind a 24-point day (seven 3s) from Jordan
Allen, cut it to seven, but got a little too touchy, allowing WSU to close it
at the line.
This was
arguably Wazzu's best victory of the year. It shot over 50 percent, had four in
double figures and scored 32 fast-break points on the MAAC's regular-season
champions from a year ago.
Additionally,
it did it without mainstay Viont'e Daniels (out with a concussion), a week
after losing to lowly Montana State and four days after sophomore Arinze Chidom
announced his decision to leave the program.
"Every
team is gonna deal with adversity in the season," said Franks, who had
game highs in points (25), rebounds (12) and assists (five). "Now we have
the blueprint of what it takes to fight adversity and overcome it."
RIDER
(4-4)
Johnson
0-2 0-2 0, Durham 0-6 0-0 0, Williams 4-7 0-2 8, Jordan 4-12 1-2 11, Vaughn 5-9
0-0 11, Eke 0-1 0-0 0, Scott 3-10 4-8 12, Marshall 4-5 4-4 12, Gilbert 0-2 2-2
2, Allen 7-18 3-4 24. Totals 27-72 14-24 80.
WASHINGTON
ST. (6-3)
Franks
7-12 8-10 25, Elleby 6-11 5-9 18, Cannon 4-5 15-16 23, Robinson 1-3 0-1 2,
Skaggs 2-5 6-6 12, Pollard 1-2 5-6 7, Wade 1-1 0-2 2, Kunc 0-1 0-0 0, Cooper
1-2 0-0 2, Ali 1-4 0-1 3. Totals 24-46 39-51 94.
Halftime-Washington
St. 45-35.
3-Point Goals-Rider 12-35 (Allen 7-14, Scott
2-4, Jordan 2-6, Vaughn 1-3, Gilbert 0-2, Durham 0-6), Washington St. 7-20
(Franks 3-6, Skaggs 2-5, Ali 1-3, Elleby 1-3, Pollard 0-1, Kunc 0-1, Cannon
0-1). Fouled Out-Williams, Vaughn, Gilbert, Scott. Rebounds-Rider 33 (Marshall,
Scott 7), Washington St. 38 (Franks 12). Assists-Rider 14 (Scott 4), Washington
St. 17 (Franks 5). Total Fouls-Rider 33, Washington St. 22.
::::::::::::::::::::
WSU men’s
basketball
With
school-record 39 free throws, Washington State outlasts Rider 94-80 to stay
unbeaten at home
UPDATED:
Mon., Dec. 17, 2018, 10:56 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson Spokane S-R
PULLMAN –
The last eight days came with plenty of discouraging news for the Washington
State basketball team.
What
started with a five-point loss to Montana State continued four days later when
reserve forward Arinze Chidom announced plans to transfer. Then, at some point
along the way, Viont’e Daniels suffered a concussion, keeping the veteran guard
out of the Cougars’ lineup for the first time since his sophomore season – a
span that stretched 60 games.
Monday’s
game against Rider, played in front of a sparse home crowd that numbered just
1,673 – but appeared much smaller than that – could’ve been the next bump in
WSU’s road. Instead, the Cougars used it as a pick-me-up, beating the Broncs
94-80 to preserve their unbeaten record at Beasley Coliseum.
“The
students are gone, not a lot of people in the building and you have to generate
your own energy and create a homecourt advantage to beat a team the caliber of
Rider,” WSU coach Ernie Kent said. “The adversity of the last couple of weeks,
the thing that it did – and it does it a lot with young people that have
character – it just brought their character out.”
Marvin
Cannon, a junior college transfer, made just his third start of the season but
potentially earned himself a fourth by scoring 23 points on 4-of-5 shooting
from the field and 15 of 16 from the free-throw line.
Robert
Franks led the Cougars (6-3) on the scoresheet with 25 points – his seventh
20-point effort in eight games – and freshman CJ Elleby scored in double
figures for the fifth consecutive game. Franks was also the clubhouse leader on
the boards, with a game-high 11 rebounds.
A scrappy
Rider team committed 33 fouls and sent the Cougars to the free-throw line for
51 attempts. That wasn’t a school record, but WSU’s 39 made free throws was.
Cannon was
almost perfect from the stripe, Franks went 8 for 10, Carter Skaggs boosted the
percentage by going 6 for 6 and Jeff Pollard came off the bench to hit 5 of 6.
“Coach
Kent preached that them guys foul a lot, so we just tried to drive the ball and
try to get fouls,” Cannon said. “We practice free throws every day, we practice
free throws a lot so it just came second nature.”
Cannon, a
small forward from Richmond, Virginia, who came to WSU by way of Barton
Community College, set career highs in points (23), minutes played (32) and
assists (2). He was responsible for a few of the game’s momentum-swinging
sequences.
Early in
the second half, Franks fed the sophomore in the open court and Cannon flushed
home a two-handed dunk. He raced back to the other end to block a long
two-point shot from the Broncs’ Jordan Allen.
A minute
later, Cannon was back at the free-throw line, giving the Cougars a 56-35 lead
– their biggest of the game.
“He’s a
good player and when you lose a player, it’s next man up,” Kent said. “I’ve
spoke a lot about the depth of this team and what it did was created more
playing opportunities for guys. Marvin, he played just like he did in junior
college. It’s just taken him awhile.
“He had to
put on 20 pounds, he had to learn the system, gained his confidence and you can
see he can be a really special player. He’s someone else that’s coming to the
party now, as I call it. He’s only going to get better and better.”
Rider
applied full-court pressure down the stretch of the second half, allowing the
Broncs to whittle WSU’s lead to eight points with 45 seconds to play. But the
Cougars, who had runs of 24-2 and 11-0 at various points of the game, made 10
straight free throws in the final minute.
:::::::::::::::
WSU football: This year’s early signing period
could bring 20-plus new faces to Pullman
By Nick
Nordi, Coug Center
Dec 18,
2018, 6:00am PST
With the
early signing period just a day away, Theo Lawson of the Spokesman Review gives
five incoming commitments that you should keep an eye on and in the season of
giving, I add one more to his list. In just the second year of the newly
installed early signing period, the Cougars are projected to get upwards of 20
letters of intent on Wednesday.
While the
Cougars may not have all the highest rated recruits coming in, the new class
will have tons of talent at much needed positions.
To start
off his list, Theo has Gunner Cruz (quarterback, Casteel High) and has this to
say about him -”Cruz has a big arm, quick feet and if he can demonstrate a
decent understanding of Leach’s playbook early – granted, that’s a considerable
“if” – he might put himself in the mix.”
Adding an
arm like Cruz to this already loaded roster of quarterbacks will very fun to
watch come spring time. Cruz joins freshman Cammon Cooper, redshirt freshman
Connor Neville, and redshirt juniors Trey Tinsley and Anthony Gordon all of
which have a fair shot at being the next signal caller for the Cougs.
Next is
Travion Brown who is a 6’3”, 215 pound linebacker that has the skill and size
to play in the middle and the speed to play on the outside as a rush backer.
The Cougs have the depth to redshirt him as he joins Jahad Woods, Justus
Rogers, Dominick Silvels, Dillon Sherman, and Willie Taylor who all had
significant playing time this year. Coming in as just Leach’s second four-star
recruit at Washington State, Brown could be a guy to keep an eye on to help
replace Peyton Pelluer in the middle if he doesn’t redshirt.
Jamir
Thomas is next on his list. The running back out of Washington High School in
Ohio could be the third head in the three headed monster of running backs that
the Cougs have used in the past. WIth Max Borghi and James Williams being the
remaining backs with significant playing time, we could see Thomas make his
mark early. Before going down with an injury this past season, he had over
2,000 yards rushing and 24 touchdowns on the year. He is also a legitimate
linebacker that could hop in if needed if being in the backfield somehow
doesn’t work for him.
The fourth
man on Theo’s list is Pomona High School’s Billy Pospisil. Joining an already
extremely talented receiving group, Pospisil will fit right in at the slot and
be able to take over for the Kyle Sweet/Robert Lewis combo. At 5’11” and 190
pounds, He checks in as the fourth shortest receiver on the team. Before
sustaining an injury this past year that sidelined him for the rest of the
season, he had 551 yards in seven games according to MaxPreps.com
To finish
off the list, Theo has cornerback Derrick Langford. Coming in from City College
of San Francisco, Langford has some experience and height that the Cougars did
not have this year. at 6’3” he will be the second tallest defensive back the
Cougars have and is just one inch shorter than freshman nickel back Patrick
Nunn.
To add to
Theo’s list, I give you a sixth man to watch for. Daniel Isom out of Iowa
Western Community College and Northern Illinois (2016). Before going the Juco
route and spending two years at IWCC, Isom had 41 tackles and six pass breakups
as a true freshman for the Huskies. He was then injured in 2017 and had 22
tackles and two interceptions this past year. The 5’10” 180 pound corner should
see playing time right away with the struggles the Cougs had in the secondary
and with the loss of Darien Molton and Sean Harper Jr.
Who do you
look forward to seeing the most out of this year’s early signing period class?
:::::::::::::::::
WSU and other state university presidents call
for state of Washington to restore funding
Dec 18, 2018 from WSU Sports Info
WSU
President Kirk Schulz and other state university presidents have asked
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to restore full funding for faculty and staff pay
raises in the next state budget.
The state
had funded faculty and staff wage increases at Washington’s six public
universities until 2015. That year, the funding model changed to require that
raises called for under the state budget be paid by a split of state funds and
the universities’ tuition revenue.
But
tuition dollars also pay for employee benefits, state minimum-wage increases
and other charges, and tuition increases are capped each year, said a letter to
Inslee signed by the six presidents of Washington’s public universities. That
has led to shortfalls at the universities in the last two budget cycles when it
comes to paying for employee raises.
As a
result, the universities have either declined to provide wage increases at the
state-prescribed levels, backfilled shortfalls through reserves, or both.
“This
leaves us at risk of eroding the very performance levels we’ve attained for our
students and employers while compromising our ability to innovate and meet
regional economic and industry needs,” the letter said.
The state
Office of Financial Management acknowledged the request and said it would be
considered as the 2019 biennial budget is written.
The
Legislature convenes Jan. 14 in Olympia. The House and Senate will negotiate a
compromise budget to send to the governor before the scheduled April 28
adjournment
:::::::::::::::::
State
Route 26 reopens after lengthy project
Dec 14,
2018, from WSU News
OTHELLO
(Adams County, Wash.) – A months‑long project on State Route 26 has ended, and
the popular route to Seattle from Pullman is now open.
The deck
replacement project began Oct. 15 and was expected to take six weeks. The
contractor, N.A. Degerstrom Inc., initially hoped to finish the $1.2 million
project by Nov. 21, but the new concrete bridge deck and rails could not be
poured and cured following delays due to permitting and weather.
Traffic
between Colfax and Vantage no longer needs to use the 32‑mile detour through
Connell.
:::::::::::::
WSU
Football preps for Alamo Bowl
The Cougs
are one week away from heading to San Antonio to take on Iowa State.
Dec 17,
2018 from KREM-TV Spokane
PULLMAN,
Wash. — T-minus one week until Wazzu heads the San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl.
Monday
practice changed a little bit from last week. Last week was all about giving
the younger guys reps. This week is all about Iowa State.
"It
felt good to get back into the swing of things," said offensive lineman
Abe Lucas. "Last week has been kind of weird, coming back from a week off
but yeah I think we overall are doing pretty well, in a good place."
"I
thought practice went well," said safety Jalen Thompson. "Like Abe
said, good getting back out there with the guys. We feel loose, and I feel like
we're ready to go."
"Bowl
practices are kind of funny because you split them up, you get the young guys
reps and such like that, but now we're leaving next Sunday," said Abe.
"It's just kind of crept up on us super fast. Just going to stay locked in
and just get ready for that game."
Ever since
the Apple Cup, the big story line around this team has been whether or not they
can get win number 11 and set a record for single season wins in the process.
The players say the importance of that has not been lost on them.
"You could
just hear it in the locker room," said Thompson. "Guys are always
talking about making school history and getting that 11th win. That's big for
us right now. That's where our mindset is."
"It's
just another game. The bowl game, it's just another game like the regular
season, but there's a lot riding on it," said Lucas. "You can't get
too focused on that or else you'll lose sight of the goal which is just to win
the game, but everybody's got it in the back of their minds."
In the
midst of all of this, Wednesday is National Signing Day.
"Oh
it's pretty heavy. A lot of phone and that type of thing," said Mike
Leach. "We have quite a few guys committed so it's a little more clear cut
than it was last year probably at this time. Recruiting never really gets
routine because there's a lot of moving parts, but it's clearer than last year.
There will
be a press conference on Wednesday for National Signing Day.
::::::::::::
Hotline
newsletter: Football coaches on a dollars-per-win scale, Modster to Cal, Taylor
leaves Utah, UW’s key to the Islands
By Jon Wilner San Jose Merc News
Dec 17
2018 12:17 pm Updated December 18, 2018 4:22 am
Ranking
the football programs
(Using
dollars-per-win as the measure)
Cal
announced a new contract for coach Justin Wilcox earlier this month, but that
wasn’t all. The Bears revealed that Wilcox had received a raise for the 2018
season — and not an insignificant one.
Wilcox
earned $1.1 million more in ’18 through the new deal than he would have under
the terms of his original contract, bringing his pay for the season to $2.6
million. That placed him on the middle tier of Pac-12 coaches and got the
Hotline thinking about value:
Which
schools are getting the most out of the dollars spent on their football coaches?
Five
first-year coaches in 2018 make single-year comparisons difficult, so we
expanded the scope and tallied the dollars spent and victories earned over the
past three years.
Key
points:
1. The salary figures below
were taken from USA Today’s stellar database, which is compiled annually by
reporter Steve Berkowitz (and others) and provides invaluable accountability
and transparency. (For more on their methodology, go here.)
2.
Stanford and USC are not required to disclose their contracts. However, federal
tax filings reveal the highest-paid employees on campus, making salaries for
David Shaw’ (three years) and Clay Helton (one year) available — albeit with a
significant time lag. Shaw’s listed salary for this season was actually from
the tax filing for 2016, for example.
3. Be
mindful of the wording: Although I used the phrase ‘school outlay’ to describe
the payments, much of the financial support comes from private
dollars/donations.
The
schools are listed below in order of the 2018 compensation to keep the focus on
the current coaches, but the dollars-per-victory over the sweep of three years
is a more accurate measure of school value.
There’s a
wide variance, even among the most successful coaches. For instance, Stanford
and Washington State have each averaged nine wins per season from 2016-18, but
Shaw has collected more than $14 million in that time while Mike Leach —
arguably one of the top values in all of college football — has earned less
than $7 million.
Read,
enjoy, and use the information to help frame opinion, not as the final word. —
Jon Wilner.
==Washington
Coach:
Chris Petersen
2018 pay:
$4,377,500
2018 pay
per win: $437,750
School
3-year outlay: 12,110,847
School
3-year outlay per victory: $378,463
==Stanford
Coach:
David Shaw
2018 pay:
$4,311,543
2018 pay
per win: $538,942
School
3-year outlay: $14,059,203
School
3-year outlay per victory: $520,711
==Utah
Coach:
Kyle Whittingham
2018 pay:
$3,787,917
2018 pay
per win: $420,879
School
3-year outlay: $11,125,834
School
3-year outlay per victory: $445,033
==Washington State
Coach:
Mike Leach
2018 pay:
$3,500,000
2018 pay
per win: $350,000
School
3-year outlay: $6,757,500
School
3-year outlay per victory: $250,277
==UCLA
Coach:
Chip Kelly
2018 pay:
$3,300,000
2018 pay
per win: $1,100,000
School
3-year outlay: $10,300,000
School
3-year outlay per victory: $792,307
==Colorado
Coach:
Mike MacIntyre (dismissed)
2018 pay:
$2,878,500
2018 pay
per win: $575,700
School
3-year outlay: $7,724,950
School
3-year outlay per victory: $386,247
==USC
Coach:
Clay Helton
2018 pay:
$2,625,965
2018 pay
per win: $525,193
School
3-year outlay: N/A
School
3-year outlay per victory: N/A
==Cal
Coach:
Justin Wilcox
2018 pay:
$2,600,000
2018 pay
per win: $371,428
School
3-year outlay: $7,108,000
School
3-year outlay per victory: $418,117
==Oregon
Coach:
Mario Cristobal
2018 pay:
$2,500,000
2018 pay
per win: $312,500
School
3-year outlay: $8,712,700
School
3-year outlay per victory: $458,563
==Arizona
Coach:
Kevin Sumlin
2018 pay:
$2,000,000
2018 pay
per win: $400,000
School
3-year outlay: $10,891,563
School
3-year outlay per victory: $726,104
==Arizona State
Coach:
Herm Edwards
2018 pay:
$2,000,000
2018 pay
per win: $285,714
School
3-year outlay: $8,312,217
School
3-year outlay per victory: $437,485
==Oregon State
Coach:
Jonathan Smith
2018 pay:
$1,900,008
2018 pay
per win: $950,004
School
3-year outlay: $7,100,008
School
3-year outlay per victory: $1,014,286
::::::::::::::::::::::::
On Tue,
Dec 18, 2018 at 10:01 AM President Kirk Schulz wrote via email:
THERE HAVE
BEEN PLENTY OF REASONS TO BE PROUD OF WSU THIS YEAR
COUGAR
PASSION IS UNMATCHED
If there’s
one thing I know about Washington State University, it is that Cougar passion
is unmatched.
There have
been plenty of reasons to be proud of WSU this year. I hope you feel the same
way! Every achievement, breakthrough, and recognition is a shared success—and
as a generous WSU donor, you are an important contributor!
As we
continue to pursue our Drive to 25 goals, your commitment to WSU is critical. Together,
we will move Washington State University forward. Thank you for your support
already this year. If you wish to make an additional gift before the year ends,
we would be grateful for your added support!
To make an
online donation, click on this link:
https://foundation.wsu.edu/give/?utm_source=appeal&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eocy-19412
Thank you,
Kirk H.
Schulz
President,
Washington State University
