WSU women’s
hoops recruiting gets 6-foot-3 player from Australia
Coug’s women’s
hoops led by coach Kamie Ethridge added 6-3 Australian big Emma Nankervis.
Nankervis,
along with previously signed Bella Murekatete, Leah Mafua and Grace Sarve, join
a WSU roster that returns stars Bobi Hristova and Chanelle Molina while losing Alexys Swedlund and Maria
Kostourkova to graduation.
Nankervis
and Murekatete are likely going to be key for a Cougar squad that significantly
lacked size last season.
:::
WSU men’s hoops
recruiting: Smith casting a wide net from LA to Canada
By Jamey
Vinnick Cougfan.com
KYLE SMITH
offered a new name -- a 4-star standout from north of the border in the 2020
class. And the Washington State head hoops man is also reportedly giving
serious looks at a pair of 2019 and 2020 recruits in the Los Angeles Basin.
The new
offer from Smith is to Class of 2020 small forward Matthew Alexander Moncrieffe
(6-7, 195), per verbalcommits.com. Hailing from Vaughan, Ontario, Moncrieffe is
one of the top players in the 2020 cycle, he’s the No. 39 overall prospect
nationally on 247sports’ proprietary rankings.
A quick
check revealed little statistical info on Moncrieffe (possibly due to him
playing in Canada), but in last year’s FIBA U-17 tournament, the Orangeville
Prep product averaged 11 points and 7 boards over six games despite somewhat
limited minutes. His tape shows physicality, athleticism and a guy who loves to
attack the rim.
Moncrieffe
already holds offers from Florida, Georgetown, ASU and others.
IN THE
CURRENT CYCLE -- with the signing date deadline now two weeks away -- Smith has
taken interest in four from East Los Angeles College; two 2019 prospects and
two from the 2020 class, according to JUCORecruiting.com and ELACHoops. Most
notable among the quartet is an athletic forward (with an awesome name):
Babacar Thiombane (6-7, 198).
A former
Army Black Knight, Thiombane averaged nine points and seven rebounds this
season for ELAC, while shooting 55 percent from the field and 38 percent from
3-point range. Thiombane has interest from several smaller schools, with WSU
the top program to have expressed interest in the athletic big man.
What's
interesting: the stats of Malik Muhammad, LeVelle Ziegler and Raefel Agee are
modest indeed -- and Ziegler was the only one to even average double-digit
minutes. While ELAC is a high-end JC, none exactly set the world on fire with
eye-popping numbers, so how are they going to excel in the Pac-12? Muhammad
stands 6-9 and has three years of eligibility remaining, while Agee is also 6-9
but with two years left. At 6-1, Ziegler is the point guard and has three years
to play.
So what
gives? Two things to keep in mind that
might explain Smith's interest: 1) Smith looks at a LOT more than just the
stats we all focus on in the box score. Smith and his staff have over 50
analytic metrics to evaluate players, from the well known to the obscure, so
they're likely seeing something the “surface stats” don’t show. And 2) Smith’s entire philosophy is
predicated on finding overlooked players, the outlier who is toiling in
anonymity, but someone Smith believes well capable of blossoming.
A JUCO
player or four, with a nondescript stat line but with a great work ethic and a
burning desire to prove others wrong who really wants to wear crimson, would
fit that blueprint.
::::
Why
Gardner Minshew was drafted could return him to WSU one day
By Barry
Bolton Cougfan.com
THE CHIEF
REASON Jacksonville selected Cougar quarterback Gardner Minshew in the sixth
round of the NFL Draft was made clear moments after they made the pick. And
it's the same reason why the Washington State quarterback could return to the
Palouse one day, albeit in a different capacity than his starring role in 2018.
Minshew is
a "really smart guy" who aced not only the Wonderlic at the NFL
Combine, but the tests that Jacksonville put him through as part of the
pre-draft process, Jaguars director of college scouting Mark Ellenz said on
Saturday.
"Yes,
you will sit down with him and (realize) this guy could be a coach -- it is
impressive," said Ellenz. "We interviewed him at the combine, a
formal interview, and he was at the Senior Bowl also, but he is a sharp
dude."
Funny
thing, Minshew has long wanted to be a coach.
He mentioned it when CF.C first spoke to him in March of 2018 on the day
he verbally committed to Wazzu as a grad transfer QB out of East Carolina.
"I've
got these two goals; one is to play in the NFL and the other is to become a
coach," said Minshew back then. “ … As far as coaching goes, I've always
been a huge follower of the Air Raid, I love that style of football. And to be
able to learn under one of the creators of it will be such a great experience,
and it's such a great coaching tree to get into."
MINSHEW IS
ABOUT to accomplish the first of his goals. But the reality is NFL careers are
short, something Minshew himself pointed out in our first conversation with him
more than a year ago. And Minshew's
"second career" in coaching might ultimately turn out to be his true
calling.
Imagine
Minshew back at WSU but this time as a GA or offensive quality control coach,
followed by a promotion to full assistant coach. His knowledge of the Air Raid
(and other offenses) would be the perfect fit.
Now
consider Minshew out on the recruiting trail -- talking to recruits, parents
and high school coaches.
Given how
he grabbed the attention of the college football world last season, anyone want
to be against him winning a few living room recruiting battles?
IT WOULD
BE great fun to see Minshew buck the odds and have a long NFL career, maybe
even prove the draft analysts wrong who have said his best-case scenario would
be as a "career backup" in the National Football League.
But it
might be even more fun to see what he could accomplish at Washington State as a
coach.
:::
Gardner
Minshew meets the mustache pioneers of Cougar QBs
By COUGFAN
THE
MISSISSIPPI MUSTACHE, Gardner Minshew, took the Pac-12 — and the world of
facial hair— by storm in last football season, and earlier this month in
Pullman he had a chance to meet the two trailblazers who first mixed mustaches
and quarterbacking at Washington State.
Chuck Peck
and John Hopkins are widely believed to be the first WSU QBs to sport ‘staches.
Not
surprisingly, they both came to Cougarville in the era of Three Dog Night,
Black Sabbath and bell bottom jeans.
Peck, a
horseshoe 'stache guy, played for the Cougs under Jim Sweeney from 1972-74. And
Hopkins, a handlebar man, was in crimson from 1973-76 under Sweeney and Jackie
Sherrill.
Consequently,
at the historic gathering of generations of Cougar quarterbacks earlier this
month at the CougsFirst! QB Classic in Pullman, it was destiny fulfilled to
find the two pioneers in the same place with the legendary Minshew, who is now
a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Thus the
photo at the top of this page. Hopkins, on the left, is now clean shaven and
Peck, on the far right, has elevated his face game to a classic Tom Selleck
chevron.
PECK,
KNOWN FOR HIS SENSE of humor back in the day, chuckled when reminded of WSU’s
win over Stanford in 1972 when he landed in Sweeney’s doghouse. After the
Cougs' last TD of the afternoon, Peck (the holder) and Joe Danelo (the kicker)
switched places for the extra point. As they were jogging onto the field for
the PAT, Peck told Danelo that Sweeney authorized the position swap since the
game was sealed. So Peck split the uprights out of Danelo’s hold. When they
returned to the sideline, Sweeney was less than amused.
HOPKINS
SHARED A STORY about his final game as a Coug in the 1976 Apple Cup in Spokane.
After team warm ups, he changed jerseys to a different number and put on a
jacket. So when he was inserted into the game at running back for a gadget
play, the Huskies had no idea it was the team's former starting quarterback.
When the new starter, Jack Thompson,
pitched him the ball, Hopkins proceeded to fire a 20-yard bullet down
the middle for a first down.
NOTABLE:
Both Peck
and Hopkins also hold places in Apple Cup lore. In 1973 in Seattle, Peck -- a
Ballard High product -- led the Cougars to their largest-ever win over the
Dawgs: 52-26 (42-6 at halftime). In 1975, Hopkins had the Cougs on the verge of
another victory in Seattle. Leading 27-14 with the ball at the Husky 14 and
just minutes remaining in the game, Sweeney wanted to play things safe, run the
ball and kick a field goal. His players wanted to run up the score. A breakdown
in communication -- run or pass on third down? -- ensued, along with calamity.
No need for gory details, but the Cougs lost 28-27 in a miracle final two
minutes for the Dawgs.
Peck has
been a long-time broker and financial manager in the Portland area. Hopkins is
a real estate developer in southern California as well as a long-time assistant
coach for one of the nation's most storied prep football teams, Mater Dei in
Santa Ana, Calif. (stay tuned for an interesting story on that later).
:::
Pac-12: No plans to change schedule philosophy
says Larry Scott, conference commissioner
SCOTTSDALE,
Ariz. -- The Pac-12 has no plans to change its football scheduling policies and
philosophies, including playing nine conference games, to enhance the league's
chances to place a team in the four-team playoff.
Commissioner
Larry Scott said Wednesday that conference coaches and administrators discussed
during meetings this week whether there are ways to better position their teams
for College Football Playoff selection. The Pac-12 has failed to have a team
chosen three times in the CFP's five-year existence, more than any other Power
5 league.
In
addition to playing nine conference games, several Pac-12 schools infrequently
play FCS teams and routinely schedule two Power 5 nonconference opponents in
the same season.
"It's
pretty apparent our schools do not singularly focus on, 'How do we skate
through as easily as possible?'" Scott told reporters.
The Big 12
and Big Ten have nine-game conference schedules, and Southeastern Conference
and Atlantic Coast Conference teams play eight-game league schedules. The Big
Ten and Big 12 have each missed the playoff twice. The SEC and ACC have had
playoff representatives every season.
Scott said
CFP considerations are only part of scheduling decisions. Pac-12 television
contracts with ESPN and Fox were struck with a nine-game conference schedule in
mind.
"We've
got obligations. It doesn't mean it would be impossible, but up until now, our
schools haven't wanted to change," Scott said. "Our schools like
playing against each [other]. Don't really like going into the buying of games
market."
Paying for
one-off home games against lower-level Division I opposition has become costly.
Top Power 5 schools frequently pay more than a million dollars to have an
opponent come to their stadium with no return road game. Also, Scott said,
Pac-12 schools have a difficult time drawing fans for games against lesser
competition.
"Our
fans aren't going to come out to our stadia for any game. They come out for
high-quality games," Scott said. "There's pressure our campuses feel
to have a high-quality slate of games. There's a perception that scheduling to
make the playoff is the first priority for our schools."
Scott
cited Southern California's and Stanford's traditional rivalries against Notre
Dame as an example of the Pac-12's scheduling philosophy.
USC has
also played a home-and-home series with Texas and a neutral-site game against
Alabama in recent seasons, in addition to the annual game against the Fighting
Irish. This season, Stanford will play Northwestern and UCF in the
nonconference, along with Notre Dame.
There is
nothing the Pac-12 can do to push the SEC and ACC to play more conference
games, though Scott said the Pac-12 would support the Power 5 conferences
agreeing to have their teams play at least 10 games each season against Power 5
competition, regardless of conference.
"Directionally,
that would create the kind of parity we want," Scott said. "I would
say it would definitely be a step in the right direction."
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