‘Structure and freedom’: Inside the offense new head coach David Riley is planning to bring to WSU
By Greg Woods, Spokane S-R. 4/9/2024
Geoff Crimmins photo for
S-R
PULLMAN
— Telling the story of last season’s Washington State team is impossible
without telling the story of how the Cougars’ use of Isaac Jones changed down
the stretch.
Jones,
WSU’s 6-foot-9 athletic forward, was best with his back to the basket. He’d
catch the ball on the block, back his guy down with a dribble or two, then use
some nifty footwork to stride into the lane for an easy layup or dunk.
Except
as the season hit its final stretch, as the Cougs established themselves as the
Pac-12’s second-best team and surged into the national rankings, opponents
wised up. They started doubling Jones on the catch. They also started fronting
him, but without enough spacing to open up the pass, WSU had a really difficult
time even getting the ball to Jones.
Then,
last week, Washington State hired a head coach whose offense could make this
pass with ease.
David
Riley, the former head man at Eastern Washington for three seasons, prides
himself on efficient offense. Last season, his Eagles ranked fourth nationwide
in effective field goal percentage, sixth in 2-point field goal percentage, and
nobody in their rotation shot worse than 35% from beyond the arc.
With
shooters at all five positions, Eagles opponents had no choice but to stick to
their assignments, which opened up the floor for post entry passes like those.
It may only be one play, but it demonstrates the kind of offense Riley might
implement at WSU, whose lack of spacing toward the end of the season hampered
its offense in a meaningful way.
“We
have a very concept-based offense,” Riley said at his introductory press
conference last week. “We’re gonna allow these guys a ton of freedom within the
structure of it. And as long as they’re unselfish — because if you give guys
some structure and freedom, but you’ve got a bunch of selfish dudes, it doesn’t
work. But if you have unselfish guys that buy into it, it’s a beautiful thing.”
In
short, Riley wants to transform WSU into an offensive machine, the kind he
molded Eastern Washington into. In terms of personnel, the Cougs are working
from a near-bare cupboard. At this point, they return three players, maybe
four, depending on junior wing Jaylen Wells’ decision on whether to turn pro or
not: Freshman guards Isaiah Watts and Parker Gerrits, plus forward Spencer
Mahoney, who was not on scholarship last season.
Riley,
who said he hopes to finalize his coaching staff this week, could get an assist
from his old squad. As of Monday, three former Eagles have entered their names
into the transfer portal: Junior wing Casey Jones, who led the nation last
season in free-throw rate, junior center Ethan Price, who shot 47% from deep in
Big Sky play last season, and freshman guard LeJuan Watts, who took home Big
Sky Newcomer of the Year honors.
Whether
they follow Riley remains to be seen — Jones has received interest from
Stanford and WSU coach Kyle Smith, according to one report, which included Ole
Miss and Grand Canyon on that list — but it does illustrate the archetype of
player Riley has built his teams with. His best players can all shoot the ball,
and they’re willing passers.
A
stat that demonstrates that best: Last season, EWU ranked ninth nationally in
assists on made shots with a figure of 62%. Senior point guard Ellis Magnuson
ranked second in the conference with an assist rate of 31%.
“We’re
gonna make sure that we take great shots and then play together,” Riley said,
“and once they kinda understand that structure, that’s where they get that
freedom to make reads and be creative and be themselves.”
Still,
concerns exist in other corners of Riley’s operation at EWU. Last season, the
Eagles allowed an average 3-point percentage of 36.9%, which ranked nearly last
in the country. Their defensive effective field goal percentage mark of 52.8%
ranked in the 300s in the nation. They also registered steals on just 8% of
possessions, No. 293 nationally.
It’s
one of the reasons Eastern Washington disappointed in two straight postseasons,
taking the top seed into each of the past two Big Sky Tournaments, only to get
upset in the quarterfinals both times. Last season’s Eagles didn’t make any
national postseason. The year prior, they appeared in the NIT, taking down WSU
in Pullman before falling to Oklahoma State in the next round.
Still,
Riley took care to note, EWU ranked well defensively within the Big Sky. The
Eagles finished fourth defensively in conference play last season, allowing a
league-low effective field goal percentage of 51.3%. A year prior, that number
was 49.2%.
Can
Riley keep those trends intact — and turn around the wrong ones? Much of that
will depend on the roster he fields come fall. One thing seems for certain:
Riley’s is an offense where WSU playmakers like Wells and Watts could thrive.
