News for CougGroup 12/17/2019

WSU SOCCER SIGNS TRINITY RODMAN

==She's sister of DJ Rodman, member of WSU men's basketball team.

==Their father is Dennis Rodman of NBA fame

From WSU Sports Info 12/17/2019

PULLMAN – Continuing their haul of talent for the 2020 season, Washington State soccer head coach Todd Shulenberger reeled in one of the biggest recruits in the country Tuesday with the addition of Trinity Rodman (Newport Beach, Calif.). 

Rodman, the top-ranked forward in the 2020 class and the highest rated recruit in program history, is the ninth new Cougar to sign a National Letter of Intent with WSU for the upcoming season. She joins: Aniah Cutler (Long Beach, Calif.), Margie Detrizio (Chandler, Ariz.), Alyssa Gray (Gig Harbor, Wash.), Lynette Hernaez (Corona, Calif.), Jayla Land (Irvine, Calif.), Makenna McGill (Huntington Beach, Calif.), Haley Weinkauf (Lake Tapps, Wash.), and Marin Whieldon (Upland, Calif.).

“What better way to end an outstanding year of WSU soccer than to sign one of the top recruits in America,” said Shulenberger. “Trinity will join an exciting 2020 class next fall. She brings a national championship, international experience, and an attitude to get to goal and produce. Trinity is not afraid to roll up her sleeves and get to work and she will fit in nicely with a hungry bunch of players around her.”

Trinity Rodman | Forward
One of the most battle-tested recruits to don the Crimson and Gray heading into the fall, Rodman has extensive international experience having played throughout the US National Team system. 

In 2018, Rodman traveled to Uruguay with the U-17 team as one of the four youngest players of 21 selected for the 2018 U-17 World Cup. 

Most recently she played with the U-20 team in the Nike Invitational Friendlies alongside of her future Cougar teammate Mykiaa Minniss. The duo helped lead Team USA past the European champion French squad as Rodman assisted on the opening goal of the game and scored the game-winner in the tournament’s finale.

In addition to her national team experience, Rodman has been a force on the club level playing for the So Cal Blue alongside of fellow Coug recruits Lynette Hernaez and Marin Whieldon. The point of the spear of an unrelenting attack, Rodman and her fellow Cougar recruits led their team to the 2019 ECNL National Championship in June at the U-19 level having previously won three-straight national club titles at younger levels. 

Rodman has led the Blues to a 10-0 start and a +44 goal differential in the ECNL this season as they look to defend their national title. For her play, she was named a 2019 United Soccer Coaches Youth Girls All-American for the second time in November.

Rodman will join her older brother, DJ, on the Palouse in the fall. DJ is currently a freshman on the Cougars’ men’s basketball team.

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Senator: College athletes get inadequate health care

Chris Murphy to meet with Emmert to discuss ideas on compensating athletes

12/17/2019

HARTFORD, Conn.(AP)  — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy released a report Monday calling on NCAA schools to do more to provide health care to their student-athletes.

The report is the last of three from the Connecticut Democrat dealing with issues surrounding players and the money generated by college athletics.

Murphy, who co-chairs a bipartisan congressional working group on athlete compensation with Utah Republican Mitt Romney, also announced they would meet today with NCAA President Mark Emmert to discuss developing national policies for paying athletes.

The senator released a report in March critical of how little college athletes benefit from the profits generated by sports. A second report in June detailed what he called a “lack of academic integrity” among NCAA institutions.

His latest report recommends the NCAA require full health coverage for athletes and allow players to see doctors who are not associated with their athletic program or school.

Murphy also wants schools to guarantee four-year scholarships for athletes, including those who become injured, and allow players to transfer immediately from programs if they believe their health is at risk.

He also called for stronger consequences for schools that don’t follow protocols for handling concussions and other health issues.

“The NCCA Division I manual is 400 pages long,” Murphy said. “In it, 38 pages are dedicated to stopping student athletes from being able to make money. One page of 400 is dedicated to protecting the health of college athletes. That speaks to the misplaced priorities of the NCAA today.”

Phone and email messages seeking comment were left with the NCAA.

The issue of athlete compensation has gained urgency since California passed a law in October that will give college athletes the right to make money off things like endorsement deals and promoting businesses or products on their social media accounts. That law does not go into effect until 2023.

Since then, more than 20 other states have moved on similar legislation, with some states saying they would like new laws in place as soon as next year.

Murphy said there needs to be a uniform national policy, or at least minimum national requirements, for compensation from which all states can work in passing their own legislation.

“To me, this is an issue of civil rights,” Murphy said. “These are largely young African-American athletes that are playing at the big-time college sports programs. And the adults who are getting rich off their exploits are largely white.”

The NCAA Board of Governors in October voted to allow athletes to be compensated “in a manner consistent with the collegiate model,” and gave schools in its three divisions until 2021 to come up with a policy.
Murphy said he is willing to work with the NCAA on federal legislation but believes that organization wants Congress to pass something that provides a very limited right to compensation for athletes. He said that is something he is not interested in doing.

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WSU football

All-Decommit Team 2.0: 10 notable Washington State players who chose the Cougars after pledging elsewhere

Tue., Dec. 17, 2019
By Theo Lawson S-R Spokane

A few days ago, we compiled a list of former Washington State commits that had their eyes set on a career with Mike Leach and the Cougars, then backed out for a multitude of reasons. Maybe a coach moved on. Maybe another wave of offers came. Maybe there was a last-minute change of heart.

While a handful of recruits have flipped on the Cougars, they’ve also been beneficiaries of the opposite.

That should be the case on Wednesday, too, when the early signing period begins. At least two players previously committed to other programs are projected to sign with the Cougars – defensive back Jackson Lataimua, a former Nevada pledge, and offensive lineman Julian Ripley, an ex-San Diego State commit – and maybe Leach and his staff will be able to flip one or two more.

We gave you the “All-Decommit Team” on Saturday. Now, we break down 10 players who committed elsewhere but ultimately chose a career with the Cougars, and rate the impact that decision had on the team using a scale from 1-5.

Max Borghi, RB, Colorado

Date decommitted: June 30, 2017
Date committed: June 30, 2017

Borghi’s recruiting story is well known among WSU fans, mostly because of its recency. The Pomona High running back planned to stay at home in the Centennial State, but the Cougars flipped Borghi over the summer, offering a unique opportunity to play in an offense that would use both his running and pass-catching. But, the drama didn’t end when Borghi pledged and Stanford made a strong push for the multi-tooled tailback right before the signing period and many figured he’d wait until February to make his decision. In the end, Jim Mastro and the Cougars completed one of the more impressive recruiting jobs of the Leach era and convinced Borghi to sign.
Impact: 5. After just two seasons, it’s probably safe to call Borghi the best running back Leach has had in Pullman. So, imagine where he’ll be two years from now – if he stays that long.

Jamire Calvin, WR, Nebraska/Oregon State

Date decommitted: See below

The junior slot receiver committed to three different programs in less than a month’s time, but WSU was fortunate to be the last. Calvin first committed to Oregon State on Jan. 17, 2017, during the Army All-American Game, but then changed his mind less than two weeks later, pledging to Nebraska on Jan. 27. But three WSU assistants – Derek Sage, Dave Nichol and Roy Manning – flocked to his Southern California home the Friday before Signing Day and fielded a handful of questions from Calvin, who wound up leaving the Beavers and Cornhuskers behind to sign with the Cougars.

Impact: 4. Calvin posted impressive numbers in 2017 and ’18, with 75 catches for 797 yards and four touchdowns, but a lower body injury shelved him this season.

Hunter Dale, DB, Nebraska/Florida

Date decommitted: July 19, 2014
Date committed: March 2, 2015

Few defensive players under Leach picked up the recruiting interest Dale did. The Louisianan had his pick of the litter, with offers from Florida, Miami, Louisville, Nebraska, Penn State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Notre Dame and others. The Gators seemed to be a good fit so Dale committed, but he eventually pulled out when coach Will Muschamp was fired. A similar thing transpired at Nebraska, where Dale was committed as both a football and baseball player, but decommitted shortly after the Huskers parted ways with Bo Pelini. Dale’s relationship with Alex Grinch, who’d been recruiting the player at Missouri, paid off and he eventually decided on the Cougars.

Impact: 5. We’re bumping Dale from a 4 to a 5 because of his impact not only as a 26-game starter at the nickel position, but also now as a defensive quality control assistant on Leach’s staff. The Cougars got lots from him as a player. Now they’re doing it with him as a coach.

Gabe Marks, WR, SMU

Date decommitted: Dec. 21, 2011
Date committed: Jan. 5, 2012

WSU might have missed out on the most prolific receiver in school history had Marks elected to play at Southern Methodist, which had a commitment from the Venice Beach wideout before rumors began to spread that Mustangs coach June Jones was on his way out. Marks’ area recruiter, Adrian Klemm, also left for UCLA and the player decommitted four days before Christmas. Then, as Marks explained during a video segment for the Pac-12 Networks, “Leach called me one day and I jumped right on before I even came for a visit.”

Impact: 5. This one was easy. Marks set the Pac-12 record for career receptions, with 312, and there simply hasn’t, and may never be, a more productive receiver in Pullman under Leach.
Tay Martin, WR, Tulane

Date decommitted: Dec. 16, 2016
Date committed: Jan. 22, 2017

A former Louisiana 4A hoops Player of the Year, Martin had three Division I basketball scholarships from the University of New Orleans, Southern Miss and UAB but turned those down to play FBS football at Tulane, not far from his hometown of Houma. Former WSU outside receivers coach Derek Sage was recruiting Martin while he was still coaching the position at the University of Toledo, but when Sage left for Pullman, he managed to convince the rangy, athletic wideout to join him in the Pac-12.
Impact: 4. Cougar fans have seen glimpses of Martin’s potential, but they’ve also seen the receiver disappear from time to time. Still, it’s hard to argue with 139 career receptions, 1,549 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Robert Lewis, WR, SMU

Date decommitted: Jan. 17, 2012
Date committed: Jan. 18, 2012

Lewis ditched the Mustangs around the same time Marks did, when Jones’ future in Dallas was uncertain, although the Watts, California, native never indicated that was his reason for decommitting from SMU. Nonetheless, Lewis preferred the package the Cougars were offering and the small but physical wide receiver backed off his pledge from SMU one day, then committed to WSU the next and signed on the dotted line just a few weeks later.

Impact: 3. Lewis’ most productive years in Pullman were his first three, when the receiver caught 117 balls for 1,254 yards and six touchdowns. But he missed all of 2017 with an injury and fell out of the rotation the following season, making just one grab.

Isaac Dotson, LB, Nevada

Date decommitted: Jan. 13, 2013
Date committed: Jan. 13, 2012

Initially excited to play quarterback in Chris Ault’s pistol offense, the two-way star from Bellevue’s Newport High jumped at an offer to the Wolf Pack and was committed for more than six months before Ault retired after the 2012 season in Reno. Leaving Dotson with more doubt, Nevada’s offensive coordinator relocated to Temple. “That means they are not sure what offense they are running,” Dotson told Northwest Prep Report in 2013. “That made me rethink it all.” While the Cougars offered Dotson as an athlete, they gave him a shot at QB before eventually moving him to the defense, where he’d spend the rest of his career.

Impact: 4. The versatility Dotson brought to the defense was key through Grinch’s tenure in Pullman, as was the linebacker’s leadership.

Marcellus Pippins, CB, Utah

Date decommitted: Feb. 2, 2013
Date committed: Feb. 2, 2013

Three other Pac-12 schools had offered the cornerback from El Cerrito, California, and Pippins was set to play for one of them before the Utes asked him to grayshirt and delay his enrollment. Pippins wasn’t into the idea, Utah pulled his scholarship offer and the three-star defensive back looked elsewhere, ultimately landing on the Cougars. And, well, he grayshirted anyway, enrolling in January of 2014 to take part in spring camp.

Impact: 3. While Pippins lost hold of his job midway through his senior year, the corner still started 31 games and finished his career with five interceptions, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.

Shalom Luani, S, Oregon State

Date decommitted: Dec. 15, 2014
Date committed: Dec. 15, 2014

Before Luani was a seventh-round NFL Draft pick of the Oakland Raiders, or an All-Pac-12 First Team defensive back for Leach’s Cougars, the American Samoa native was an Oregon State commit. Not just an Oregon State commit, actually, but the top-rated Oregon State commit in the class of 2015. Luani, ranked the No. 19 junior college player in the country was sold on the Beavers until Mike Riley left his post in Corvallis for the open job at Nebraska – Gary Andersen replacing him shortly thereafter. That actually caused not only Luani, but also Treshon Broughton to reconsider his options, and both players wound up in Pullman together the following year.

Impact: 5. Luani starred on the field, making 158 tackles, intercepting eight passes and forcing three fumbles, but he also helped with the Cougars’ pipeline to City College of San Francisco, where they’d go back time and time again for players like Anthony Gordon, Easop Winston Jr., Robert Taylor and others.

Easop Winston Jr., WR, Eastern Michigan

Date decommitted: Dec. 13, 2016
Date committed: Dec. 13, 2016

Even after two productive seasons at City College of San Francisco, Winston Jr. lacked any sort of college interest until Eastern Michigan of the Mid-American Conference came in with a late offer. Unsure if anything else would be coming his way, Winston Jr. committed right away. But, it didn’t sit well with him when an EMU recruited told the sure-handed receiver he wasn’t talented enough to play at the Power Five level. The Cougars had one wide receiver scholarship left and dialed up Winston Jr. the day before the early period. He committed on Dec. 13 and signed Dec. 14.

Impact: 4. After spending a redshirt season to work on his speed and strength, Winston Jr. broke out for the Cougars with 52 catches for 654 yards and eight touchdowns last year, tacking on 77 receptions for 914 yards and 11 touchdowns this year. And counting…

Honorable mention: Dallas Hobbs (DL, UConn); Tyrese Ross (S, Mississippi State); Hunter Mayginnes (OL, Arizona State), Treshon Broughton (CB, Oregon State), Isaiah Johnson-Mack (WR, Florida).

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Healthy backcourt has been key to three-game win streak for Washington State men basketball

By Theo Lawson
Spokane/Inland Northwest Spokesman-Review
12/17/2019

PULLMAN – There’s a correlation between the three-game winning streak Washington State carries into its next home test against Florida A&M, and the clean bill of health that’s finally been afforded to the Cougars’ backcourt.

Four of the six guards who’ve played in Kyle Smith’s rotation have encountered some type of injury or ailment through the first two months of the new season. Therefore, it felt like relative stability when the first-year Washington State coach could divvy up his minutes to five players on Sunday in a 70-56 win over UC Riverside.
Even better, Smith finally has all six at his disposal during the Cougars’ practices, which can be more important than games for a new program trying to build habits, gain experience and nail down substitution patterns.

Before beating Riverside, the Cougars took down New Mexico State in Spokane and beat Idaho in Moscow, allowing an average of just 58.3 points in those three games.

“I think, like I said (Sunday), (guard is) a pretty important position where we’ve been spotty on availability,” Smith said Tuesday during a weekly news conference. “And one of your best abilities is availability.”

Freshman point guard Ryan Rapp has dealt with nagging injuries dating back to the preseason and has just two games under his belt. Starting point guard Jaylen Shead has had “three incidents,” according to Smith, rolling an ankle and injuring his hip, but was only forced to miss one game. Another starting guard, Isaac Bonton, missed one game with what Smith called a “bug,” and freshman Noah Williams missed three games because of injury.

Marvin Cannon and Jervae Robinson have been the only guards to play in all 10 games, although Robinson hasn’t been at 100 percent in a few of those.

“We’re really thin back there,” Smith said. “They really kick-start what you’re doing offensively, so we’ve got to get more time on the practice floor.”

The Cougars had Shead, Bonton, Williams, Cannon and Robinson available in each of the last two games – all five playing no fewer than 18 minutes in a 14-point win over the Highlanders.

Smith’s backcourt will have another chance to iron out things Thursday when WSU (6-4) plays host to Florida A&M (0-8) at 7:30 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.
The Rattlers may be the most-traveled team in college basketball, having played all eight games on the road, including three in Hawaii for the Rainbow Classic. Florida A&M, which won’t have a home game until Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play starts, also traveled to USC, Seton Hall, Kansas State, Tennessee and most recently Portland.

“Just know they’ve had a ridiculously tough schedule. It’s kind of unfair,” Smith said. “They play with purpose on the offensive end and try to get the ball inside. Again, we’ll have to be good defensively.”

If nothing else, Florida A&M could be a handful in the paint, perhaps offering an early glimpse of the size and strength the Cougars should see in the Pac-12. They’re led in scoring (10 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg) by 6-foot-8, 300-pound Evins Desir, a redshirt senior from Haiti, and the Rattlers carry three other players who stand 6-8 or taller.

“There’s always someone offering something for us to get better at,” Smith said. “They do a lot of screen and cross stuff. I know, just kind of glancing at the Pac-12, there’s quite a few teams that have big bodies up front, and especially the first two home games (against USC and UCLA) we’re going to see some of that. So there’s always opportunity to get better ther
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