News for CougGroup: News for CougGroup 3/15/2019

WSU hoops coaching search: who won't want the job and who will?

By Greg Witter Cougfan.com

CF.C COMMENTARY

WE’RE IN THE EVERY-FIVE-YEAR-window when Washington State is searching for a basketball coach and the crimson faithful start throwing out names of possible candidates. Most of the nominees to succeed Ernie Kent will fall into the pie-in-the-sky category for a simple reason: WSU hasn’t invested in basketball in a notable way since Beasley Coliseum opened in 1973 and there’s nothing to suggest an infusion of support anytime soon unless alums miraculously start opening their checkbooks. That's not the kind of backstory that gets strong applicants lining up.

Sure, somebody donated a center-hung scoreboard a decade ago. The practice gyms in Bohler were painted in the Bennett Years and eventually outfitted with proper lighting in the Bone Years. And the locker rooms received a makeover in the Kent Years.

Those are pocket-change investments, not difference makers.

Once-upon-a-time, Dick and Tony Bennett shared with Cougfan.com that the most pressing need in Cougar hoops was charter flights, for away games and recruiting. Under Tony, the program was given a handful of charters but that is ancient history. Ken Bone was allocated three in his final season at WSU and they were eliminated entirely when Kent came on board.

Former Cougar coach Kelvin Sampson has Houston riding high right now on the strength of $85 million in facilities investments over the last four years. He took that job only because the school pledged to invest in the program.

That will be the first question potential candidates to replace Kent will put to WSU AD Pat Chun: what are you planning to invest in the program?

The answer — the real answer — will be chilling to most.

Chun will no doubt deliver as good a pitch as he can but the reality is that nothing can happen in hoops until the new Indoor Practice Facility at WSU is financed and built. At the rate it took to complete funding for the new baseball clubhouse, and with news that plans to sell field-naming rights at Martin Stadium are high centered, count the days for ground to break on the IPF in years rather than months. Which of course means WSU will be about ready to fire the new basketball coach by the time they can turn meaningful financial attention to hoops.

WSU is the most challenging coaching stop in the Power 6 basketball conferences. Period.

Add in non-Power 6 schools that invest in hoops — like Gonzaga, Villanova, Nevada, San Diego State, BYU, Boise State, Wichita State, Houston, Butler, et. al. — and you see why WSU’s recruiting foes tend to be the UC-Santa Barbaras and Pacifics of the world.

So let’s take a look at some of the names that are sure to be floated as possible successors to Kent ... and why they’d never in their right minds consider the job.

Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd — Mark Few’s right-hand man and recruiting wizard is the head-coach-in-waiting at Gonzaga. When Few retires could be years down the road, but if Lloyd made a move it would be to a program with a foundation for the future. He’s living in the penthouse right now. Issuing parkas to your players so they can make those January and February walks between Beasley and the Bohler weight room would be the ultimate outhouse. Moreover, you’d have to think he’s been offered other opportunities over the years and obviously has turned them down so why would he jump at the WSU position? He wouldn't.

Boise State head coach and WSU alum Leon Rice — Bill Moos put out the line five years ago and Few told Rice -- a one-time GU assistant -- that his career as a head coach would be over in five years if took the job at Washington State. The only thing that has changed since then is that WSU has invested virtually nothing in the program while Rice has outstanding facilities and charters in Boise.

Utah State head coach Craig Smith — He’s in his first year with the Aggies after a great run at South Dakota. Utah State has two things WSU doesn’t: facilities and tradition. Moreover, he returns four of five starters on a first-place Mountain West team, including the conference POY and several key backups. Jumping after one year on the job isn’t common, but if he did, it would be to move up, not down.

UC Irvine head coach Russell Turner — Most believe he will use this banner year to jump to a Power 6 program after failing to make the move after the 2015 season and he may be tempted by the right offer after nine seasons and four Big West titles in Irvine. However, he’s very familiar with the pros and cons of coaching at WSU from his time at Stanford and with several opportunities likely to be open and the musical chairs likely to play out as a result, other opportunities will be much more attractive to the former Golden State assistant.

St. Mary's head coach Randy Bennett — Always mentioned by Cougar fans as a likely target, but he’s had several opportunities to leave St Mary’s for better jobs than WSU and hasn’t pulled the trigger. He's an icon in Moraga who beats the Zags semi-regularly. Would a doubling or tripling of his $575,000 salary be enough to lure him from the second-best program in the WCC to the worst in the Pac-12? In 2016 he reportedly turned down $1.5 million from UNLV -- a school with major hoops tradition and a sparkling basketball complex.

Montana head coach Travis DeCuire — He's kept the momentum Wayne Tinkle built in Missoula -- four 20-win seasons in five -- and, as a former Cal assistant, is mentioned often for the job in Berkeley if Wyking Jones is dismissed. DeCuire's career is on a nice trajectory and a move to WSU would put that in major jeopardy unless he had assurances WSU would invest heavily in the program early.

So who will want the job at Washington State? Let's size it up.

A career assistant whose window to land a head job is closing or a Big Sky-level head coach — think Kamie Etheridge in the women’s program a year ago and Ken Bone in 2009 —who wants a shot at the next level. Former Virginia and WSU assistant Ron Sanchez — in his first season at the helm of Charlotte after 12 years with Tony Bennett -- would be a prime possibility in this category, as would former Bennett (and Bone) assistant Ben Johnson, a true believer in Bennett Ball and a top-flight recruiter, who is now at Portland after a second stint Down Under. Johnson and Sanchez know what a rebuild involves and, from previous stints at WSU, they likely wouldn't consider the lack of charters a deal breaker. Jim Hayford at Seattle U by way of EWU, Whitworth and Sioux Falls slots into this category as well; he has a .660 winning percentage in 20 seasons as a head coach.

An “old” guy hungry for a final rodeo, like Dick Bennett coming on in 2003 to set up Tony, and Kent five years ago. Or maybe someone who’s failed on the prime-time stage and is looking to get back into a major conference from a minor one (i.e. Detroit Mercy's Mike Davis and Long Beach State's Dan Monson).

A young guy with unbridled confidence and proven recruiting chops who thinks he can turn a systemically awful program — five NCAA Tourney invites in its entire history and just four players in history with sustained NBA careers — into a winner. That may sound like George Raveling, circa 1972, but remember that he had what at the time was a state-of-the-art facility (Beasley) opening in ’73; no recruiting competition from the likes of Gonzaga, Nevada and San Diego State; and academic hurdles that pale compared to today.

Someone who loves the school and the players. That’s Bennie Seltzer, who has a rich resume as an assistant and two years of low-tier head coaching experience, and Ed Haskins, who has just two seasons of college ball on his resume but a deep history in talent-rich Seattle. While promoting from within, you’re taking a guy who had a direct hand in the outcome you're firing his boss for. Will he add something different, despite no head coaching experience at this level?

Forty-six of years of mostly indifferent treatment of the basketball program suggests this coaching search will be a rinse and repeat for WSU barring a major commitment by the university and the tandem investment by boosters.

Chun said yesterday he'll be conducting a national search for Kent's successor and that he wants to return the program to prominence. Given that WSU's last league title came 10 months before Pearl Harbor was bombed and the last major investment in the program occurred around the time of the Watergate break in, "good luck with that" may be the natural response. A tad cynical, yes, but it's not far off, illustrating again how WSU alums and fans need to step up financially if they want the Cougars to be competitive in a major conference on a sustained basis.

SPECULATION ON A college coaching search invariably must include a tour down the career history of the athletic director and school president. Look no farther than Washington State women's basketball coach Kamie Ethridge as Exhibit A in the fruitfulness of that endeavor. In the search for a new men's basketball coach, consider that Washington State AD Patrick Chun spent 15 years at Ohio State, from 1997-2012, with eight of those years overlapping with Buckeyes basketball coach Thad Matta.

Matta guided Ohio State to two Final Fours in a sterling 13-year career in Columbus in which he won 20 games every season but his last. He is the winningest coach in OSU history. In what was characterized as a "mutual" decision between Matta and the school, he stepped down/was let go in June 2017 due to health issues.

Prior to OSU, Matta had successful stints at mid-major titans Butler and Xavier. He has compiled a 439-154 record as a head coach, a sterling 74 percent winning percentage.

This past June the Cleveland Plain Dealer caught up with at an event in Columbus. They wrote:

Not once did Matta seem like man who's itching to get back into coaching. He seemed at peace removed from the stresses of the job that consumed him for nearly three decades. So would he ever get back into it again?

"If it's the right situation for not only me, but my family, something I'd be dying to get to, I think that would be what would pull me back into it," Matta said.

Matta's name came up with three jobs last March: Pitt, Ole Miss and Georgia. He interviewed for at least two of them. Word was that the Georgia job was his if he wanted it. He instead turned it down.

RECENT REPORTS have said Matta "appears" to have recovered from the health problems that included back and foot issues. Matta has been away from the game for two years and from the few accounts out there, has been enjoying a quiet retirement in Indianapolis the last two years.

So the questions begin with Matta's desire -- does he want to get back into coaching? He doesn't need to financially. His buyout at Ohio State was a cool $9 million and he'll continue to receive $100,000 monthly checks and medical benefits until June 2020 to complete the buyout, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Are his health issues a thing of the past? Matta is only 51-years-old, and if the answer to both of those questions are yes, the next question is Washington State is a viable fit.

Matta would be a home-run hire for Washington State. But you have to believe Matta would not come to Pullman, nor anywhere else, without a total commitment from the school that it would provide the tools needed to succeed. In WSU's case that starts with much-needed facilities enhancements and charter flights.

The other thing to keep in mind here -- and it could be the most important point of all.

In order to keep that buyout package from Ohio State active, Matta is contractually obligated to pursue other jobs, a point the Atlanta Journal Constitution noted last year before Matta reportedly turned down the job.

But if Matta-to-Wazzu does indeed have legs, if he were to come to Washington State, his hiring would be strikingly similar to Dick Bennett: 50-something, Italian, and Final Four veterans from the Big Ten who came out of retirement to lead the Cougs to the promised land.

It would also immediately propel Washington State into the national college basketball spotlight, the same way Dick Bennett's hiring did 16 years ago this month. March Madness, indeed.

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What They're Saying: An eclectic list of WSU men’s hoops head coach candidates

By Braden Johnson Cougfan.

LOCAL MEDIA SCRIBES largely agreed over social media that a change in vision was necessary for Washington State basketball following Ernie Kent’s dismissal on Thursday. But national college basketball reporters, chief among them Jeff Goodman of Stadium Insider, offered cautions as WSU embarks on its search process.

Goodman said the Cougar coaching gig is the worst among power conference schools and even went as far to consider the job career suicide.

“Washington State has gone to the NCAA tourney just three times since 1983,” Goodman said. “Kelvin Sampson took the Cougars once in his seven seasons in 1994, and Tony Bennett did it twice – in 2007 and ’08. It’s considered arguably the worst gig in the Pac-12 and a graveyard for most coaches.”

But other reporters used the Twitterverse to offer well wishes to Kent, who is considered one of the nicer coaches. Here’s what everyone had to say about WSU’s decision to pull the plug on Kent:

“Most in the industry consider this to be the toughest job in a BCS conference. To start, Washington State brass would be smart to inquire on Boise State's Leon Rice, Montana's Travis DeCuire, UC Irvine's Russell Turner and Seattle's Jim Hayford.” -- Matt Norlander, CBS Sports

“Washington State is a notoriously difficult job, one of the toughest - if not the toughest - among the power conference schools. Given its location, on the border of Washington and Idaho, it's a difficult place to find talent and also attract talent. The Cougars haven't landed an ESPN 100 recruit since Klay Thompson and Michael Harthun pledged to the program back in the class of 2008.” -- Jeff Borzello, ESPN

“Strong candidate to fill the vacancy: Leon Rice, Boise State – The 55-year-old former Mark Few assistant has been at Boise for nine years and has taken the Broncs to a pair of NCAA tourneys and a couple of NITs. He’s also a Washington State alum. He turned it down before Kent took the job last time, but it could be different now.” -- Jeff Goodman, Stadium Insider

“Also keep an eye on Washington assistant Cameron Dollar and several mid-major head coaches: Travis DeCuire (Montana), Craig Smith (Utah State), Russell Turner (UC Irvine), Leon Rice (Boise State), Kyle Smith (San Francisco).” -- Andrew Doughty, Hero Sports

"Who can walk into Bohler, take what Kent has left, add a couple folks and excite the Washington State fanbase enough to bring back the Bennett-era crowds? I’ll wait why you run through the names available – and don’t say Rick Pitino. Please. As we outlined yesterday, to win at Washington State, the next coach has to be kin to Mike Leach. Not in the genealogical sense, but in the philosophical one. Winning in Pullman takes a different outlook, a different way to play. Doesn’t matter what, but few folks could be successful trying to out-recruit their Pac-12 brethren, considering the facilities, the lack of tradition, the remoteness.” -- Vince Grippi, The Spokesman-Review

“If Chun’s by-the-book support wasn’t enough to think Kent would survive, then the three years and $4.2 million remaining on his contract was – this with the athletic department’s rolling deficit making like Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock on the city bus. But Chun crossed up that conventional thinking. Not that there was a choice other than firing Kent, unless you consider surrender an option.” -- John Blanchette, The Spokesman-Review

Related: Two under-the-radar coaches Pat Chun should call

“Ernie Kent was warm and kind to me and my family. I hosted his coach’s show his first year at WSU and went on multiple trips with the team during his tenure. He couldn’t have been nicer. That said, it was time to move on.” -- Derek Deis, KXLY Radio

“Amazing to think that an alum of the school, the former AD, rolled over Ernie Kent's contract after three straight losing seasons, including after a season that included 9 wins. Nine. 9-22. Irresponsible and cronyism don't begin to describe how truly bad and reckless he was.” -- Ian Furness, KJR Radio

“What a year for Wazzu. Best football season ever AND Kent is done?!?! In all seriousness, Ernie is a good dude and a great basketball mind. I just wonder if life would have been different if he didn’t try to win immediately in Pullman with transfers.” -- Evan Closky, KENS 5

“I remember when Pat Chun said he was giving Ernie Kent one more year. And I remember thinking that he was making the wrong decision. But he made the right one today. It just didn't work out and couldn't be justified anymore. Glad we're heading in a new direction.” -- Jim Moore, 710 ESPN Seattle

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Washington State Cougars short list to replace Ernie Kent

By Matt Zemek March 15 2019 cbbtoday.com

It is Championship Week. I know that the first thing on your mind is, “Who will be the next head coach of the Washington State Cougars?” Who cares about Duke and North Carolina in an ACC Tournament semifinal with Zion Williamson, anyway?

All kidding aside, seasons are ending left and right. Programs are reassessing their next moves. Washington State made one move to fire Ernie Kent on Thursday. As anyone in college sports will tell you, if an athletic director fires a coach, s/he better know what to do next. More precisely, if an athletic director fires a coach, s/he needs to know a specific coach can be obtained for the right price.

The coach who is ultimately selected in a coaching search might not be the Plan-A option, but the coach must meet certain standards of quality. The athletic director has to know that the larger process will produce a coach who will deliver a considerable upgrade over the predecessor.

What does a coaching search look like, strictly in terms of the candidates courted for the job? It starts with the people who aren’t realistic candidates, but whose quality is so substantial that you have to ask them if they would consider taking your job. The only bad question is the one not asked.

Naturally, Washington State isn’t UCLA, so it can’t ask Gregg Marshall or Eric Musselman — there would be no point in trying to go that far up the ladder. The Cougars need to consider realistic candidates at the top of their list, even though said options would probably still turn them down.

If those candidates say no, the athletic director has to be prepared to move to the more likely candidates, the ones who would be more inclined to take the job. Building a list full of quality choices enables an AD to remain satisfied even if the first few options on this more “essential” list say no.

With that background structure in mind, this is one person’s recommendation for Washington State athletic director Pat Chun:

TIER I — COACHES UNLIKELY TO SAY YES, BUT WHO NEED TO BE FORCED TO SAY NO

The Cougars and Chun have to call Craig Smith of Utah State, who has done a spectacular job with the Aggies in Year 1 in Logan, Utah. Utah State has looked sharp and prepared this season, which — in a debut go-round for a head coach — leaves an undeniably deep mark on outside observers. Smith is just one year into his tenure, so he would naturally be inclined to stay longer at Utah State. However, Wazzu needs to make him turn down the job.

Also on the “ya gotta call this guy” list is Randy Bennett of Saint Mary’s. Yes, he turned down the California job which instead went to Wyking Jones a few years ago. Nevertheless, an AD at a struggling Pac-12 program needs to see if Bennett’s Australian pipeline can flow through Pullman. Bennett’s coaching acumen remains considerable, as shown in the Saint Mary’s win over Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament final on Tuesday. Make him say no.

A third entry on this list is Porter Moser of Loyola-Chicago. Would he go from Chicago to Pullman? Very probably not, but again, this is a coaching candidate you at least ask instead of never picking up the phone. Moser is a Rick Majerus disciple, but Utah is still being coached by Larry Krystkowiak. Majerus made a national title game at Utah. Why couldn’t Moser — who made a Final Four at a Missouri Valley Conference school — make the Final Four in the Palouse if he really is as good as the 2018 season indicated?

Those are three “dating a supermodel” candidates. They would all say no… we think… but life can be full of surprises. Ask them. It cannot hurt.

TIER II — REALISTIC CANDIDATES OF CONSIDERABLE QUALITY

There still has not been a women’s coach of a Division I men’s college basketball team. Some people in the crowd will reflexively view the naming of a female coach to lead a men’s D-I program as a publicity stunt, but a courageous athletic director will confidently select such a coach knowing her coaching chops will hold up under scrutiny.

Being realistic, the barrier-breaker for a female coach isn’t likely to come at a place such as Duke or Kentucky. It probably has to come in an out-of-the-way location where media coverage won’t be suffocating or unbearable… and where basketball expectations aren’t through the roof.

Washington State would be a great place to try this idea.

Come on down, Nancy Lieberman (who is 60 years old, hardly too old to coach for a decade if she is highly successful).

Consider us, Becky Hammon, whose name was linked to Colorado State in a previous coaching carousel.

Those two coaches would be superb choices on the raw basketball merits — they have forgotten more about the sport than I will ever learn.

At least two other names on the “realistic list” are worth considering.

Start here, via Christopher Boan, who covers University of Arizona athletics and other sports beats. He knows the ins and outs of the Pac-12, so his recommendation is trustworthy:

The other name I have to include on this list: Luke Yaklich.

Who? He is John Beilein’s defensive coordinator at Michigan, the man who helped UM make the national championship game last season and has transformed the Wolverines with his defensive acumen. He deserves a head coaching job and — interestingly enough — would be able to sell an AD on his ability to teach defense at a level approaching Tony Bennett, who did so well at Wazzu a decade ago.

Yaklich is a better stylistic fit for Washington State than many might realize.

Those are your seven primary candidates — 3 fantasy “supermodel” people who must be forced to say no, followed by four more realistic candidates who possess gleaming credentials.

Let’s see what Washington State and Pat Chun choose to do.

You may now resume thinking about Duke and Carolina in the ACC semifinals.

……….

Below is some of what Vince Grippi posted… edited out the non-WSU stuff

Grip on Sports: The Cougars decide to pay now for the last five years instead of waiting any longer

Fri., March 15, 2019, 8:46 a.m.

By Vince Grippi Spokane S-R

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Washington State made a change in its basketball program leadership yesterday. Bit the $4.2 million artillery shell and fired head coach Ernie Kent. At least when we miss, we miss big. Read on.

• We won’t ignore our wide-right thought about Kent’s status that appeared in this space yesterday. We were wrong. About 4.2 million wrong. But before we get into that failure, let’s talk about Kent’s failure, shall we, and look at how Washington State can be successful in the future. And touch on the human aspect of any athletic department change.

As we said yesterday, it was hard to image Kent fitting in Pullman. Not just recently, but when athletic director Bill Moos hired him five years ago.

He wasn’t Moos’ first choice. The job was offered to Boise State’s Leon Rice, who looked at his roster that upcoming season, looked at the one Ken Bone was leaving and said no thanks. To his alma mater no less.

Kent came in believing he could get good enough players to Pullman to win his way. He was wrong. The Cougars haven’t sniffed the postseason since he arrived and only looked like a competent Power 6 team in rare glimpses.

But, thanks to a golden parachute supplied by Moos rolling over Kent’s five-year deal before he left for Lincoln, Nebraska, Kent seemed to have every opportunity to get it figured out, at least in the short term.

WSU owes Kent $4.2 million dollars. The Cougars will pay him every penny not to coach. For a school that is projecting an almost $90 million budget deficit in the near-future, piling a couple more Scrooge McDuck moneybags to the total must be OK – not just for the folks in Bohler but down the way at French Ad as well.

Seems odd, but the spend-money-to-make-money folks must have prevailed – again. If the Cougs can improve enough to add 5,000 folks to the crowd count each home game, the change will pay for itself, right?

Ya, that’s happened a lot. A decade ago.

Who can walk into Bohler, take what Kent has left, add a couple folks and excite the Washington State fanbase enough to bring back the Bennett-era crowds?

I’ll wait why you run through the names available – and don’t say Rick Pitino. Please.

As we outlined yesterday, to win at Washington State, the next coach has to be kin to Mike Leach. Not in the genealogical sense, but in the philosophical one. Winning in Pullman takes a different outlook, a different way to play. Doesn’t matter what, but few folks could be successful trying to out-recruit their Pac-12 brethren, considering the facilities, the lack of tradition, the remoteness.

Leach wins by changing the rules of the game. He’s done it since his Texas Tech days. The next basketball coach, like the coaches that have won at WSU in the past, needs to do the same. There are coaches out there with philosophies that don’t fit the norm. That do things differently. That win without as much talent as their competition.

Whether the Cougars can find the right one at a bargain-basement price – it’s hard to imagine the next WSU coach getting a couple million a year, though a five-year contract (at least) seems necessary considering the recent lack of success – is still to be determined.

Pat Chun made a difficult call yesterday. He absorbed a $4.2 million hit and decided to change the basketball program’s trajectory. The path he sends it on with the next coach will define Washington State basketball for the next decade.

• Fans are quick to call for a change when things don’t go right. But they sometimes forget that it isn’t just the head coach, and his family, that deals with a firing like Kent’s. He’ll be OK, if only because of the financial air mattress cushioning his fall.

There are others connected to his office, however, that don’t have that type of financial security. Assistant coaches and some of the support personnel will also be out looking for work now, some of whom have spent many years in the Pullman area.

So when you are celebrating the change, if that’s how you feel, remember those folks. It’s an abrupt and tough change for them as well.

• Rarely can you go wrong basing your anticipation of decisions on monetary factors. Not in America these days.

But we certainly did yesterday. Honestly, the amount of Kent’s buyout, the athletic department’s deficit, the lip-service to getting the red ink under control, it all seem to point toward another year. Someone must have turned the signpost around when we weren’t paying attention.

It would have been nice, though, if Chun had waited a day or two. Maybe by then everyone would have forgotten yesterday morning’s tweet. Those things disappear quickly on the Net, don’t they?

WSU: The Kent news filtered out yesterday afternoon and Theo Lawson jumped on it. He has more in this story. … John Blanchette, whose Cougar coverage dates back to the George Raveling era, takes a look at where the Cougars are headed in this column. … Around the Pac-12, Jon Wilner thinks the conference needs UCLA, which lost to Arizona State last night, to throw as much money as it takes at Tony Bennett. Money's important, but a membership at Bel-Air or Rivera or Lakeside may be the real enticement. At least for Dick. …

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Cougs send Kent packing

A day after WSU suffers the worst loss in Pac-12 tournament history, AD Chun sends Kent on his way

By COLTON CLARK of the Lewiston Trib Mar 15, 2019

Less than 24 hours after the Cougar men’s basketball team suffered the worst Pac-12 tournament defeat in the event’s history — a 33-point rout to Oregon — the plug was pulled on coach Ernie Kent.

On Thursday, Washington State athletic director Pat Chun announced that the school will part ways with Kent after five seasons. WSU will begin a national search for a new head coach immediately, according to a release sent out by the school.

“I met with Ernie earlier (Thursday) and let him know I would be making a change in leadership of our basketball program,” said Chun, quoted in a written news release.“We appreciate all that Ernie has done for Washington State but at this time we need a new direction to energize our fan base and return the program to prominence.”

Kent still has three years fully guaranteed at $1.4 million each remaining on his contract, which former AD Bill Moos had extended three times — after the 2015, ’16 and ’17 seasons — with a rollover provision.

According to a Spokesman-Review source, the school will compensate Kent $4.2 million over the next three years, per his contract.

The announcement, though not completely unforeseen, did come as a shock to many in the WSU community. Because the school is currently dealing with an ever-growing athletics deficit — which is projected to balloon to $85.1 million by 2022 — followers of the team expected Kent to finish out his contract as coach.

But Chun’s decision reflects an aspiration for a swift transformation of the program.

Under Kent, the Cougars compiled a 59-98 record (22-68 in Pac-12 play), failed to win a conference tournament game, never won more than 13 games and saw their Beasley Coliseum attendance dwindle as time passed.

The program hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament in 11 years, the longest drought in the Pac-12.

WSU finished its 2018-19 season at 11-21 overall, 4-14 in Pac-12 play. The Cougs ended the year on a six-game skid — one of three five-plus-game losing streaks on the year.

Kent’s ’18-19 Cougar campaign featured embarrassing nonconference losses to low-majors Seattle U, Montana State and Santa Clara. There was a slight upswing in early February — highlighted by a road sweep of the Arizona schools and a home win over Colorado — but soon after, WSU endured a 48-point trouncing by Stanford, and was upset by lowly Cal.

The loss to the Cardinal was WSU’s worst of the Kent era.

The Cougars ranked last in the league in most defensive categories, and 293rd (KenPom) out of 353 Division I programs in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Despite two all-leaguers in NBA probable Robert Franks and freshman CJ Elleby, WSU ended the season with a KenPom ranking of No. 213 nationally, making it the second-worst high-major program, just ahead of Cal.

Kent’s WSU teams finished respectively at ninth, 12th, 10th, 11th and 11th in the league.

Over the past five years, 15 Cougars transferred out of the program, despite remaining eligibility, as WSU struggled to string together any kind of success. One recent notable departure is Milan Acquaah, who last week was tabbed WAC Newcomer of the Year with California Baptist.

The low point came in 2015-16, when the Cougs went 9-22 overall and 1-17 in league, and dropped their final 17 games.

The high point? Wazzu opened its 2017-18 season 5-0 and garnered some top-25 votes. But a handling to UC Davis and a 27-point defeat at Idaho quickly dashed any hopes of lasting prosperity.

Kent was hired by Moos — now the Nebraska AD — in 2014 on a five-year, $7 million contract, the largest in program history and about double what his predecessor, Ken Bone, made.

Before his hiring, Kent took a four-year hiatus from coaching, during which he worked as a broadcaster.

For 13 years prior (from 1998-2010), Kent guided his alma mater, Oregon, after Moos — then UO’s AD — brought him on following the 1996-97 season. The Ducks made four NCAA Tournaments and had two Elite Eight showings during his tenure.

From 1991-97, Kent headed Saint Mary’s. In his final season, he steered the Gaels to a 23-8 record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cougars’ last winning season came under Bone in 2011-12. WSU went 19-18 and qualified for the College Basketball Invitational tournament.

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Two under-the-radar hoops coaches WSU AD Chun should call

By Dylan Haugh Cougfan.com

THE LAST TWO basketball coaches have tried to win at Washington State with an up tempo offense and both were fired after five years. In fact, going back 30 years, only three basketball coaches at WSU have managed to avoid the chopping block and it's no coincidence that defense and pace, and recruiting to those two tenets, were hallmarks of what Kelvin Sampson, Dick Bennett and Tony Bennett brought to Pullman.

WSU athletic director Patrick Chun no doubt has been compiling a list of potential successors to Ernie Kent for a long while and drilling down hard on the possibilities over these last three weeks as the Cougars limped to the finish line.

Related: Rest assured, no one like Tommy Lloyd will touch this job

If Chun is any kind of student of history, defense and pace have been key pieces of his thinking. To that end, two first-year head coaches -- each of whom learned their craft at the foot of coaching icons and each in the midst of a 20-win season -- should be high on WSU's search list. Here's the break down:

==1. Justin Hutson, Fresno State

Hutson, 47, has Fresno State at 23-8 and two wins away from The Big Dance. FSU finished third in the Mountain West with a 13-5 conference record. Hutson brings defense to the table and when Wazzu has experienced success on the hardwood, defense has been the trigger point.

Fresno State led the MWC in defensive 3-point field goal percentage (30.4 percent), and in steals with 211, (7.03 per game). They get after it and defend every inch of the floor.

Hutson learned under the tutelage of former Michigan and San Diego State head coach, Steve Fisher at SDSU (2006-11, ’13-18). He was Fisher's defensive go-to assistant from 2013-17. And SDSU finished in the top 15 nationally in both scoring defense and field-goal percentage defense during that span.

Hutson has extensive West Coast recruiting ties and is known for engineering SDSU’s stifling defenses during the Kawhi Leonard and Xavier Thames’ days -- Hutson constructed defensive units that were long and quick, switched ball screens freely, and pressed enthusiastically.

Players WSU currently has at its disposal -- such as C.J. Elleby, Marvin Cannon and Chance Moore -- fit the type of athletes he recruited at SDSU: quick, with long wingspans and the ability to jump out of the gym.

Hutson was the point man in recruiting Leonard, Thames and Jamaal Franklin. Leonard was an AP All-American in 2011 and the latter two were honorable mention All-American during their time in San Diego. All three became NBA Draft picks. And one is arguably one of the NBA's top three.

In a 2013 poll of D-I head coaches conducted by ESPN, Hutson was considered the 8th-best recruiting assistant nationally and tops on the West Coast.

Say what you will about Pac-12 basketball this year, it’s still the premier league to be in on the West Coast and judging by the look of the conference, wouldn’t now be the best time for Hutson to jump in?

==2. Darian DeVries, Drake

In his first season at the helm, DeVries, 43, and the Bulldogs shocked the Missouri Valley conference finishing the regular season tied for first (24-9, 12-6). Drake was predicted to finish ninth in the Missouri Valley preseason poll. Instead, DeVries was voted the MVC Coach of the Year.

He spent 20 years under the wing of first Dana Altman and then Greg McDermott at Creighton (17 as an assistant coach). In that time, Creighton made the NCAA Tournament 12 times and the postseason 19 times. But what’s his style?

Push pace. Shoot 3s. Defend all 94 feet ... very similar to his two mentors.

I hate to use football verbiage while describing basketball, but DeVries could potentially bring with him a defensive coordinator who spent four seasons at WSU under Tony Bennett -- Matt Woodley.

Woodley served as an assistant coach last season at his alma mater Drake. And he also helped spearhead the pack line defense (along with Ben Johnson) under Bennett from 2006-09 that led to three consecutive postseason appearances at Wazzu, including the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2008. Woodley was WSU’s recruiting coordinator -- he knows how to recruit to Wazzu.

DeVries' first recruiting class at Drake was fascinating in that he did something Ernie Kent only did once in his five years at WSU: bring in grad-transfers. DeVries nabbed a true point guard in Nick Norton from (UAB), who in 14 games before a season-ending knee injury averaged 14 points, 5.9 assists and 4.1 rebounds. He also brought in sharpshooter Brady Ellingson from Iowa (11.9 ppg, 47.9 percent 3-point shooting).

Consider Eric Musselman's success at Nevada with grad transfers, or Chris Beard this season at Texas Tech. After tech's Elite Eight run last season, he restocked with two of the top grad transfers on the market in Matt Mooney (South Dakota) and Tariq Owens (St. Johns). The Red Raiders won a share of the Big 12 this season and No. 6/7 Tech is poised for another NCAA tourney run.

DeVries could bring WSU into the grad transfer market that is becoming the new age of college basketball.

IF HISTORY HAS proven anything, it's that you must carve out a niche in Pullman to succeed in basketball. For Huston, that means employing a specific defensive style and recruiting to that scheme, in DeVries' case it's recruiting creatively.

Drake wore down its opponents with a rugged up-and-down style, demanding tiring teams defend all 94-feet while showing the ability to run, find open spacing to can 3-pointers and grab high-percentage field goals in the paint.

Under DeVries this season, Drake led the MVC in points per game (75.5) AND defensive 3-point percentage (.304), plus assists with 15.4 per game. Drake also finished third in defensive field goal percentage (.428).

DeVries and Co. won 24 games this year but the best Drake can hope for is the NIT. The guess here is he'd like to battle with the big boys in the Power 6. Having already showing the ability to recruit to Creighton and Drake, Pullman would make a lot of sense.

WSU coaching search: Is Thad Matta tan, rested and ready?

By COUGFAN.com

Prior to OSU, Matta had successful stints at mid-major titans Butler and Xavier. He has compiled a 439-154 record as a head coach, a sterling 74 percent winning percentage.

This past June the Cleveland Plain Dealer caught up with at an event in Columbus. The newspaper wrote:

"If it's the right situation for not only me, but my family, something I'd be dying to get to, I think that would be what would pull me back into it," Matta said.

Matta's name came up with three jobs last March: Pitt, Ole Miss and Georgia. He interviewed for at least two of them. Word was that the Georgia job was his if he wanted it. He instead turned it down.

Are his health issues a thing of the past? Matta is only 51-years-old, and if the answer to both of those questions are yes, the next question is Washington State is a viable fit.

The other thing to keep in mind here -- and it could be the most important point of all.

It would also immediately propel Washington State into the national college basketball spotlight, the same way Dick Bennett's hiring did 16 years ago this month. March Madness, indeed.

News for CougGroup

Friday, March 15, 2019

News for CougGroup 3/15/2019

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