SB Nation - Charlie Enquist

Washington State 76, Idaho 64

Grady. — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:48:53 -0000

One of the trends I've noticed from obsessively following a sports team for the past seven years is that I tend to find positives in the losses (hey, at least so-and-so played well...) and find negatives in the wins. It's the weird counter-intuitive stuff that creeps in to your head after you've over-analyzed something for long enough. I can only imagine how crazy most head coaches must be, since they think about this stuff 24 hours a day, and their teams almost never put together a completely perfect game.

Tonight, this is probably the angriest I've felt after a win in a long, long time. The Cougars had a 27 point lead in the second half. 27 points! Then, Ken Bone's brain took the night off, essentially playing our second team (with a starter or two mixed in) for the next ten minutes and letting Idaho creep back in. Worse, a running offense became a completely halfcourt one; the equivalent of when a football team that passes like crazy but runs the ball on three straight plays because they are trying to run the clock out. That's something called 'playing not to lose', and it is horrible. More teams lose playing to avoid a loss than teams that actually play win the game (of course, when they do go for the win, like Belichick on 4th and 2 - and fail - they get plastered by the media, creating hoards of spineless coaches who continue to give up on what their team does best in the name of "just hanging on").

Like we saw in the Gonzaga game, we can no longer feel safe with a large lead like we did in the clock-controlling Bennett area. This team can blow leads in games if they lose their aggressiveness or defensive intensity. And while Idaho never seriously threatened, they cut a 27 point lead down to seven with a minute left (darn you, halfmullet!). I would love to believe that our seven point lead with a minute left is safe, but you'll have to excuse me for not: I was at the Stanford game in 2004.

I get that Idaho is a very good team, and realistically we are only 5-10 points better than them. Problem is we didn't play our best team for a good portion of the second half, and it turned a big blowout into a semi-close game. Was Bone trying to rest players? Probably. But if so, it didn't matter since the starters had to essentially play the entire final five minutes just trying to hang on. Play those guys earlier, and you don't get into that situation in the first place. Sacrificing a lead in the name of rest is never a good idea in my opinion. Charlie Enquist and Mike Harthun got a huge number of minutes during a stretch in the game where quite frankly they didn't deserve it. Give them 8-9 minutes with a comfortable lead late, not with ten or fifteen left to play. That's an eternity in college hoops.

On the other hand: wow. This was a big victory. For a moment, we dismantled a very good ball club eight miles away from their home. A 21-2 run blew it open, fueled by what we had been craving: more three-point shooting. And it wasn't just Klay: role players like Abe and Nik got into the act, and in the blink of an eye the Cougars had almost built a 30 point lead. Of course in several more blinks Idaho had nearly erased all the goodwill we had built, outscoring us by 20 until the final minute. That's not great, but then again we aren't a juggernaut, and we aren't going to bury a team like Idaho by 30 points. It was just nice to think for a second that we could have.

Anyway, it's a great win. It really is. We took down the Vandals in all four factors, defended the perimeter, protected the ball and hopefully made Mac Hopson wish he'd never have transferred.

But for goodness sakes, please finish the job. Earlier.

Player of the Game: DeAngelo Casto - A dominating night on the boards with 14 rebounds (5 offensive) and 13 points, all against a physical Vandal front line. Great night for D.

Unsung Hero: Klay Thompson - That has to be about as quiet a 25 point night as you'll ever see. A lot of it has to do with an inefficient night shooting (9 of 21) and three turnovers. However, he wins this award thanks to his nine boards and overall point production. I can't give this award to Reggie Moore every time.

It was over when... Reggie Moore hit two free throws to put the Cougars up nine with under a minute to play. It's just so sad it took that long to get to our "It was over when..." moment. Ugh.

Play of the Game: Abe's back to back threes! (Klay missed one in between, but whatever) They were huge in the context of our ridiculous 21-2 run. Downside: they were the only two shots he made and for some reason Bone still thinks Abe is good enough to start but not good enough to get more minutes than Koprivica.

Stat of the Game: I'm not usually into plus/minus, but tonight it was very telling of how this ball game played out. It also features a ridiculous spread from top to bottom. Hat tip to BigWood:

Thompson 33
Moore 27
Lodwick 25
Casto 21
Capers 17
Watson -15
Enquist -27
Koprivica -35
Thames -37
Harthun -39

Like I said, we aren't as good a team out there when our best players are on the bench. Duh. Now, Kenneth, please play Abe Lodwick more. He's actually pretty good.

One final thought: ZZU CRU - it would have been nice if you had shown up for this game. I get that it's cold, but this was a rivalry game against a quality opponent. I could tell the Vandal fans understood that, but outside of a couple key stretches, most of our student section didn't. Yes, I'm calling you out, because you're better than that.

AUDIO: CougCenter Podcast, Episode 18

Nuss — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:57:49 -0000

You know, I thought this whole "figure out why we're losing" thing would be limited to the football podcasts. Guess not.

Click play below to listen to Craig, Grady and I break down the Gonzaga and Kansas State losses, as well as discuss what can be done to get Klay Thompson back on track, how the defense can get right, and why you all should be legitimately concerned about Idaho tonight.

As usual you can listen to the audio via the player below, or visit our podcast page for myriad subscription options. You can also find us in the iTunes directory under keyword "CougCenter." The advantage of subscribing? Besides having the audio directly delivered to your player of choice, I often upload the audio to the podcast site before posting it here.

AUDIO: Ken Bone press conference, 12-8-09

Nuss — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:21:47 -0000

People seemed to enjoy the Paul Wulff weekly press conferences with reporters -- at least as much as they can enjoy listening to a coach talk about injuries ad nauseam -- so we hit up the WSU Sports Information Department to see if they'd send us the Ken Bone audio from his conferences.

Sure enough, they did. Here is this week's audio -- 15 minutes of goodness breaking down the losses to Gonzaga and Kansas State. (On second thought, maybe this isn't all that different from the football conferences ...)

Most interesting to me is his comment about the offensive sets, and how they haven't even put in their full motion offense yet, let alone and special sets they'd like to run. I think that's significant -- those special sets are precisely what this team needs to help Klay Thompson get some open looks, and they just aren't in there right now.

AUDIO: CougCenter Podcast, Episode 14

Nuss — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:57:52 -0000

Just Grady and I this week, as we had a bit of an issue with our recording time. But to make up for it, we talk extra long -- 42 minutes worth of football and basketball! (Mostly basketball.)

As a side note, we'll apologize again for some of the pops and noises that seem to find their way into the recording through TalkShoe. The good news is that we're actively working on improving our technology to dramatically improve our sound quality. I've been working with Ty Hildenbrandt of The Solid Verbal podcast (if you love college football, it should be required listening) to get ideas to upgrade some things, and you should notice some pretty big differences soon. (You might already notice some small differences if you're listening carefully.)

Also, if you're interested, Paul Wulff's Tuesday teleconference is available via our podcast player on the right side of the page, or on our podcast page. (If you subscribe, you've already got it.) We just didn't put it up on the main page this week.

Quick observations on last night's win

Nuss — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:19:07 -0000

Enough football! Let's talk hoops!

I don't have a lot of time to compose flowery prose, but I did want to pass along some of my initial thoughts after last night. Here you go, bullet style:

Like most of you, last night was the first time I've gotten a chance to watch this team. My initial impression brought to mind a certain former coach of the Arizona Cardinals. We're athletic in the backcourt. We're small up front. We have a new coach, so the offense looks awkward at times. We're young, so the effort is inconsistent. These are all things we expected, and all things we saw last night.

Klay Thompson is a different player than he was last year -- and that is a fantastic thing. You might think I'm talking about that improved free throw rate. I'm not. While that is all well and good, I'm just talking about his attitude. He's got a completely different demeanor than he did last year, when there were times where he had to be begged to shoot instead of deferring to Taylor Rochestie and Aron Baynes. He's carrying himself like a guy who not only knows he's the team's best scorer, but as a guy who knows he's one of the premier scorers in the conference, if not the country. He looks like a guy who knows he's the best player on the floor. Tremendous confidence. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: This team will go as far as Klay can carry it.

The downside to that, of course, is that there were times last night where I felt like he was taking some rushed shots and forcing things a bit. I'm guessing that's part of Ken Bone's strategy to get Thompson to see himself as a scorer. Once that transformation is complete, expect some of that to get reigned in. Personally, I'd rather have my best scorer shooting too much than too little, and Thompson is far too smart of a player to continue to have such poor shot selection.

Yup, Reggie Moore is good. I think what I liked the most is that he generally wasn't spectacular -- just steady while making the occasional nice play. And oh by the way, he played 36 minutes. If he plays with this kind of a steady hand all year, while blossoming into a reliable scorer, this team could end up being better than I thought.

Speaking of those minutes, count me among those a little perplexed by Bone's rotation last night. I was all set to write a post on Bone's history of minute distribution at PSU, which essentially is that he used a lot of bodies for no more than 65 to 70 percent of the minutes on any given night. That held to form on Friday, but then last night blew that whole thing out of the water. Last night was classic Bennett: Three guys playing high minutes, five guys playing meaningful minutes, and a couple of guys getting token minutes. Perhaps this was just a one-night strategy, but count me among those surprised by how much he relied on Thompson, Moore and DeAngelo Casto last night.

Casto is fantastic. He's definitely beefed up, and has obviously worked to develop some offensive moves. However, I wonder if he can keep up that kind of energy all year long -- only five rebounds last night after a big night on Friday. There's obviously no way to know if there's any kind of causation there, but it sure seemed like he was slowing down on the glass as the game wore on. And, to be honest, it's not the minutes I'm worried about, per se; it's the minutes as the team's primary big man, with the other team's best big man leaning on him night after night.

The rest of the frontcourt is as big of a question mark as I feared. James Watson looked OK I guess, and Abe Lodwick's energy was impressive. But where was Brock Motum? And Charlie Enquist is doing nothing to dispel the idea that he's merely keeping his scholarship warm for someone with more talent. The lack of production out of anyone not named Casto was stunning. Perhaps it had something to do with the matchup that Bone elected to go small almost the entire night, but I fear that it's because our bigs are even worse than we imagined.

Good to see the defense be incredibly effective in spurts. The pack is still in full force, even if it's been modified ever so slightly to increase ball pressure on the perimeter. There were a number of breakdowns along the way, which would probably lead some to question whether the same commitment to defense will be there this year. It's a sound question, but I'll reserve judgment on it until we see some more games. I'll go ahead and chalk up some of those open 3s where they didn't close out to immaturity at this point.

To close, I thought last night was the perfect microcosm of what we're going to see this season. There were spots where they looked really, really good. I was satisfied with the way they were playing early, cold shooting and questionable shot selection notwithstanding. The effort was good, even if the execution wasn't. Soon, they turned up the heat defensively, and closed the first half on a run. They began the second half in much the same way, running the lead to 15 points with 12 minutes to go.

But then ... youth kicked in. The Eags, full of veterans and trying to make a name for themselves, kept chopping wood. The Cougs, full of freshmen and sophomores, started to coast. And it nearly cost them. The great news is that it didn't cost them -- they still won -- but Bone will have plenty of teaching points as ammunition for practice this week. That's really the best of both worlds when you've got a young team.

AUDIO: CougCenter Podcast, Episode 13

Nuss — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:12:26 -0000

Like you, we're pretty tired of football season. So, we spend most of this episode talking about basketball: expectations for the team (with particular attention paid to Ken Bone's comments) and a preview of the backcourt and frontcourt. We also submit predictions for the football game, but I'll bet you can guess how that goes.

PLAYER PROFILE: Charlie Enquist

Dancing Football — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:05:26 -0000

#40 / Forward / Washington St. Cougars

Height: 6-10

Weight: 222

Year: sophomore

Hometown: Edmonds, WA

High School: Kings HS

Major: Engineering

Charlie Enquist came to the Cougars as a project. He has one of those things that is literally impossible to teach: size. That size earned him a few minutes in some very important Pac 10 games last season. Against Oregon State, with much of the front line in foul trouble, Charlie logged eight minutes. He played another three in the Cougs most memorable win of 2009, the upset of UCLA on the road.

In that short time on the court it was evident that Charlie lacks the strength or speed to consistently go against Pac 10 big men. He had trouble keeping up on defense and was a non-factor on offense. The best thing going for Enquist this season is that, like his own team, much of the Pac 10 is thin up front.

Charlie will get playing time this year. Deangelo Casto is the only returner with significant experience. Charlie's eleven appearances last year puts him second just before a redshirt freshman James Watson and Aussie Brock Motum. Big men rarely play more than thirty minutes a game, so we will see Enquist on the floor.

Best Case Scenario: Charlie is effective when he comes in on both sides of the floor. He is able to use solid fundamentals to secure defensive rebounds and the lack of size and strength around the league masks his own shortcomings. He contributes a few buckets a game on offense, either on mid-range jumpers or put-backs. He is a decent front court sub and plays 10-15 minutes a game.

Worst Case Scenario: Charlie simply cannot keep up with Pac 10 athletes. He struggles mightily and is relegated to the emergency foul trouble role that he had last season. He logs some minutes in the non-conference, but mostly rides the pine in conference play.

Likely Scenario: He is going to play. He'll knock down a few open jumpers, and he will probably get some looks thanks to the ability of Reggie Moore to penetrate. He may struggle to rebound and play defense against elite athletes, but he won't be a great liability. He is still 6'10" and coordinated. He should play anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes, depending on the situation of the game.

Poll

How much do you think Charlie will play?

None

1 votes

0-5 minutes/game

27 votes

5-10 minutes/game

36 votes

10-15 minutes/game

13 votes

More!

2 votes

79 votes | Poll has closed

Washington State 73, LCSC 51: Your exhibition notes

Grady. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:12:50 -0000

The first unofficial game of the Ken Bone era is in the books, and so far, so good.

The new edition of the Cougars played as advertised: young, talented, small and more offensive-minded than in the past. What surprised me, pleasantly, was that the tempo wasn't overly fast, and the defense held on to many of the old school Bennett-era principles. That is: man-to-man defense with an emphasis on taking away anything inside.

One big difference, though, was a greater willingness to crash the offensive boards. Unlike Bennett ball, the Cougars weren't content with settling back on D as quickly as possible after a missed bucket. Tonight they were stronger following up on their shots, and while it led to a few fast break opportunities for the Warriors, it more often resulted in a second shot attempt for the Cougs (actually there probably would've been more than 8 offensive boards had the Cougs not made so many shots).

I had the feeling a few times that this should have been a bigger blowout than it was. Actually, it really should have with WSU missing seven of their nine free throw attempts in the second half. Still, the Cougs coasted for the better part of this game, and looked comfortable for the most part in the new system.

The big concern for the Cougs, literally and figuratively, is their size. This team is undersized, especially at the 4, where Bone started Abe Lodwick (!) and played, among others, Nikola Koprivica. Part of that was due to the head injury suffered by James Watson, where we still aren't sure if it is a big deal or not. The other part of it has to do with a lack of effectiveness from our actual "big" players (minus Casto). Regardless, this team gave up ten offensive rebounds to LCSC in the first half, which is just plain unacceptable against a team that small. One can only wonder what struggles this team may have underneath against teams with actually skilled bigs.

Now, some individual player comments:

Klay Thompson: still Klay Thompson. Nothing to worry about here, and he seems to be more aware of getting to the basket and drawing contact. Which, honestly, is really the only thing keeping him from being an elite player nationally.
DeAngelo Casto: Casto is starting to play like a man among boys, which he absolutely should be against lower-tier competition like this. He netted a double-double, with 14 points, 11 boards and 3 blocks. His post moves have improved, he is getting a little better at facing up to the basket, and can get a occasional put-back or two.
Reggie Moore: There is no newcomer I'm more excited about than Moore. He is just phenomenal. The biggest question mark coming into the season was who we could get to replace the outgoing Taylor Rochestie and Aron Baynes. Baynes doesn't have a replacement on this team, but Moore seems like he could be a perfect fit at point. Especially when this team only needs a distributor to set up our two scorers (Thompson, Casto). He's a brilliant passer, quick and athletic, and seems to already know he's just that good. He had eight assists to six points tonight: that's downright Weaveresque. He managed a couple dunks of the fast break, and assisted on two gorgeous alley-oops: one to Casto on the fast break, and another in traffic to Capers: easily the play of the night.
Marcus Capers: Speaking of #0, he struggled tonight, outside of converting my favorite alley-oop. His shot is still far too flat, and he had a couple uncharacteristic defensive lapses. Still, I think he can be a solid starter for this team, and deserves the opportunity. His offense will come with time; for now we should be able to enjoy his defense and tremendous length (as Jay Bilas would say) in the backcourt.
Nikola Koprivica: Remains one of the more frustrating players on the team, in that one second he's making a beautiful cut to the basket for a lay-in, and the next he's blowing the same type of shot on a 3-on-1 break. Still, his passing is good, his defense is still sound, and his experience will be key at times when we need someone off the bench to settle us down.
Abe Lodwick: Started at the four, which is fine against smaller teams but scares the heck out of me going into Pac-10 play. He hit a three, grabbed a board, but was otherwise unremarkable in his 12 minutes. We'll see what kind of role he develops on this team as the early season wears on.
Xavier Thames: Thames has the potential to be at Reggie Moore's level within a year or so. He's another super-athletic guard who can shoot the ball, run the fast break and make a couple highlight reel plays. However, since he's like a Reggie Moore Lite (TM), I think his best use is off the bench as a more offense-oriented alternative to Capers.
Brock Motum: Yikes. Kind of a rough debut for the Aussie, whom we really do need because of our lack of size in the frontcourt. He was mostly unremarkable, making his only two-point attempt and missing two threes. He reminds me of Fabian Boeke in that he's a Tony Bennett big-man recruit who often seems to play more like a guard than forward/center. We're going to need him as a forward/center, because right now we seem surprisingly stacked at guard.
Mike Harthun: I shouldn't have put him so far down on this list, considering how well he played. In 22 minutes he hit five of six shots, grabbed three boards and never turned it over. More importantly, he looked comfortable doing it - something he rarely did in his limited game action last year. Harthun is another speedy guard that can aid us on the fast break, drain perimeter shots and take some of the pressure off Klay. I feel Harthun and Lodwick are interchangeable from a shooting standpoint - they will both have good nights, and they'll both have off nights. Bone's best bet is to ride the hot hand.
Charlie Enquist: Still the same old Charlie, he's going to be a help this year in that he at least has some experience at the 4. He still doesn't have the size or rebounding prowess of a Casto, but he's still pretty bouncy and brings that whole Caleb Forrest-type skillset to the table.
Reserves: Late in the game Bone put out a lineup of Allen, Loewen, Bragg, Brown and Bjornstad. Of those, Allen is clearly the most likely to have an impact this year. He looks comfortable running the point and taking a shot in rhythm, which is probably how he ended up snatching ten minutes in tonight's game and still having a shot at cracking the rotation. Bjornstad is big, which we really really need. However his skills are still raw so he'd do just as well with a redshirt.

Overall, the 2009-2010 Cougars are young, skinny and a heck of a lot of fun to watch at times. Other times, a little more frustrating, like at the free throw line. Nevertheless the future looks brighter than ever. Bone's recruitment of Moore in particular is going to result in a huge payoff for us.

The regular season is only four days away. I can't wait.

THE AFTERNOON PAPER: Odds and ends on a Friday

Nuss — Fri, 15 May 2009 22:54:53 -0000

There just so happens to be a lot of Cougar-related stuff out there today, so I figured I'd throw it together in one spot for you.

The first item is a couple of days old, but you might have missed it if you didn't get into the comments on the Bone contract story. Per Grippi, what we all speculated has finally been confirmed: Fabian Boeke's back problems are too severe for him to continue to play basketball, so he will no longer be using one of the team's 13 scholarships. In his spot slides sophomore-to-be Charlie Enquist, who was on scholarship his first year but a walk-on last year. No word on whether this is a permanent scholarship, or once again a year-to-year agreement.

The move isn't a huge surprise, given the lack of big bodies in the program -- Enquist will join DeAngelo Casto, James Watson and Brock Motum as the only scholarship big men. As excited as we all get for next year, so much of what this team will be able to accomplish hinges on those four, because right now, we're looking at a frontcourt rotation that includes just one player with extensive Pac-10 experience (if you can qualify DeAngelo Casto's 16.1 minutes per game as "extensive").
In another basketball item, Ken Bone finished his staff today by hiring Jared Barrett as director of basketball operations and Tim Marrion as coordinator of basketball operations. Barrett had been an assistant coach at Utah Valley University, while Marrion comes from San Jose State. If you've heard Marrion's name before, you have to be the most hardcore of hardcore Cougar basketball fans -- he had been a student assistant in Dick Bennett's three years before graduating in 2006.
Huge weekend for a number of spring sports. First up is baseball's big trip to Corvallis to take on the Beavers. If you want a chance to watch tonight's game at 5 p.m., it's being offered on Channelsurfing.net at this link. But last time I tried to watch an OSU feed, it didn't work. The weekend started off on a great note, as senior catcher Greg Lagreid is one of 13 semifinalists for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation's top catcher.

Next, track travels to the Pac-10 championships, which fires up tomorrow in Eugene, Ore. Defending their conference titles will be Jeshua Anderson (400-meter hurdles) and Sarah Trane (two-time winner of steeplechase). Oregon's Web site will have live results.

Then, there's junior golfer Kevin Tucker, who was in the hunt for a berth to the national championship after a strong first day at the regional tournament yesterday, only to have a tough second day. His +5 today dropped him from 37th to 63rd. Tucker is only the second men's golfer in school history to earn an invite to the regional tournament, but he'll need the round of his life to advance to the national tournament.
More scholarship news. Cougfan.com is reporting that offensive linemen Zach Enyeart and Brian Danaher have each been awarded scholarships by Paul Wulff. No word on how the scholarships are being accounted for (i.e., who's not getting one, who's coming off scholarship, who's grayshirting, etc.).
Now, for some scholarship speculation. Vince Grippi, who doesn't normally speculate, put up an interesting post today openly wondering if one-time Pullman High School star wide receiver Aaron Pflugrad might be looking to come home after receiving his release from Oregon. Pflugrad's father, Robin, was an assistant at WSU from 2001 to 2006, before he left for Eugene and Aaron followed. New Oregon coach Chip Kelly elected not to retain Robin Pflugrad when he was promoted to coach.
Last (finally!) a couple of nice stories to pass along. First up is Jim Moore catching up with Jason Gesser at SeattlePI.com. Gesser says he wants to "build a dynasty" at Eastside Catholic, where he was recently named head coach. Also, Howie Stalwick catches up with a 73-year-old former Coug all-American, Bill Steiger. Why do we care about Steiger? Because, like Cory Mackay, he was paralyzed from an accident in the midst of his college career. He came back to play again.

Cougs win ugly over Beavs

Grady. — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:14:48 -0000

Stats by StatSheet.com

Seven Oregon State points in the final 13:38 of regulation. Fifteen Washington State turnovers. 35% shooting by the Beavers. A nine-point OSU lead thrown away down the stretch. An 11 shot disadvantage for the Cougars. No points by either team in the final 1:42.

In a game this ugly, was it really any surprise WSU came out on top?

Aron Baynes has 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Washington State past Oregon State, 61-57. The Cougs, once down 43-34, climbed back into the game late, tying on a Taylor Rochestie three-pointer with 3:47 left. Lathen Wallace made a three for the Beavers to regain the lead 50-47, but was immediately countered by Daven Harmeling's three to tie it up again at 50, with 1:42 left.

It was the last score of regulation. Taylor Rochestie had a chance at a game winner - a runner similar to the one he made last weekend against Stanford - but was too far out and threw up an airball over the rim. Oregon State's ensuing desperation halfcourt shot was short and the game headed into overtime.

There, the Cougs took over, outscoring OSU 8-3 to start the extra period. WSU finally sealed the deal through two Caleb Forrest free throws with nine seconds remaining.

Player of the Game - Baynes Baynes Baynes. 17 and 11, on 6 of 7 shooting and 5 of 5 free throws. Please just give him the rock. I can't emphasize this enough.

Play of the Game - Daven Harmeling's three to tie the game at 50 with 1:42 remaining. It was Daven's first made basket in Pac-10 play, and five games overall. I'm not joking. Welcome back, buddy.

Where did Casto go?

Making his first career start, DeAngelo Casto ended up with only six minutes. What happened? Two quick first half fouls sidelined Casto in the first half - not all that shocking. When WSU started the second half, DeAngelo was back, but quickly pulled after some defensive lapses. Again, not surprising for a freshman. What was surprising was that he never came back. Casto and fellow freshman Abe Lodwick were never heard from down the stretch.

Defensively, there was no reason to put DeAngelo back in, as the upperclassman-heavy lineup of Rochestie-Thompson-Harmeling-Forrest-Baynes carried much of the load down the stretch and in overtime. But Casto should have been in there to help alleviate the considerable offensive rebound advantage OSU had - 25.6% to 20%, and 8 to 5 overall. He also could've provided a spark for a still-struggling Cougar offense. WSU still managed only 16 points in the last 13:38, in what had to be the slowest nine-point comeback in the history of college basketball.

A reversal of fortune

Shooting certainly wasn't an issue for the Cougs tonight. WSU hit 70% of their shots in the first half and finished with an eFG% of 56.2%. Also present for the Cougs was an excellent free throw rate of 55% - converting on 16 of 22 chances from the charity stripe.

What was missing from the WSU offense was any sort of ball protection - a turnover rate of 25.4% leading to eleven more Beaver shots. Also troubling was a first half defense that surrendered 33 points. 33 points to an Oregon State team that scored 38 total points against Arizona State one week ago.

From freshmen back to upperclassmen

The freshman revival we thought was coming after the Stanford win? Well, it took a step back tonight. Days after winning with a three-freshman lineup (Thompson, Casto, Lodwick), the Cougars went to the seniors in this one. Baynes, Rochestie, Forrest and Harmeling were all key down the stretch. They're not ready to fade away just yet. The key will be finding ways to integrate the younger and older members of the squad successfully. Also key will be getting enough playing time for the freshmen that we can have depth as the season goes on.

Great call by Tony though to bring in Charlie Enquist in the first half. With Baynes and Casto in foul trouble, Tony got eight strong minutes out of the freshman, with one rebound and one block to show for it. No major defensive breakdowns for the kid, either. At least none that I saw live.

Gassed Rochestie for Saturday?

Credit member BigWood (great handle, by the way) for being the first to point out that Taylor played 45 minutes tonight. That means he now has two days to rest up before the faster paced Ducks. He'll almost certainly be playing over 80 minutes this road trip. Can he still push through it and have a good game against Oregon?