SB Nation - Marcus Capers

AUDIO: CougCenter Podcast, Episode 19

Nuss — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:50:17 -0000

One topic on the podcast? Moore of this, please. (Get it? MOORE of this?)

Back at it again, a little later in the week than usual. Just Craig and I, as Grady is traveling for the holidays. I apologize in advance for some of our audio difficulties; for some reason, Craig's audio quality just drops dramatically early in the podcast, then pops back in later. We still have no idea what that was about.

Topics covered include breaking down the victories over Idaho and Air Force, some striking individual statistics, whether the defense is really improving and what to expect in upcoming games against Portland State and LSU.

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.

Some highlights from the individual KenPom rankings

Grady. — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:12:55 -0000

More photos » by Dean Hare - AP

The numbers don't lie. Reggie Moore is awesome.

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Did you know...

Klay Thompson is seventh nationally in the percentage of shots he takes relative to the rest of his team? Klay fires off 37% of all Cougar shot attempts.

DeAngelo Casto is 31st nationally in block percentage? I know, that's not very surprising. He was 41st last year as a freshman. But still cool.

Reggie Moore is 16th nationally in free throw rate? Again, not a huge shock. However, he's also 69th nationally with a 127.5 offensive rating. For comparison, Klay Thompson is 257th at 118.4.

And the real surprise...

Marcus Capers is 17th nationally in free throw rate. One behind his teammate. Wow.

It's very early and small sample size, grain of salt blah blah blah. We're just having some fun with numbers telling us some things we already know (Klay Thompson and Reggie Moore are beasts offensively, Casto swats everything), and some things we didn't (Marcus Capers may actually provide some offense after all, by getting to the line).

And it was already brought up, but I love looking at our team page and seeing that our Cougars are the 333rd youngest team in the country. This team has some crazy upside. Of course the sports gods hate us, and so I'm sure the Pac-10 will peak in overall talent once again at the exact same time we do.

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.

A first look at Idaho

Dancing Football — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:01:48 -0000

Moscow - City of mystery, So full of history, noble and old
Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-Moscow, there is a burning fire
That never will expire, deep in your soul
-Genghis Khan "Moscow"

Every Coug has a special place in their heart for Moscow. For earlier generations, Idaho's younger drinking age built WSU's party reputation as freshman could rub elbows with fifth year seniors at Moscow's various liquor stores and watering holes. Those days are gone, but most Cougars still find themselves making the 8 mile trek across state lines for the cheap DVDs from Wal Mart, a Dad's weekend postgame dinner, and Winger's. Of course, there is also the area's premier shopping center, the Palouse Mall. They know what you want, and they got it.

Also located in Moscow, La Casa Lopez, which has the best Mexican food on the Palouse. Go during dinnertime (after 4pm) and have the bean dip. It's phenomenal.

In my time in Pullman, I took my fair share of trips across the border. I also had the opportunity to take in two basketball games in the Cowan Spectrum. I saw the legendary battle for last place in the WAC between the Vandals and San Jose State in 2007. I also saw the Cougs play there in the turnaround year.

That Coug game was my first experience in the Kibbie Dome. (For those of you that don't know, Cowan Spectrum is the Kibbie Dome with a giant divider down the middle and a basketball court laid out over the north end of the football field.) The Vandals were having a double header, so I was lucky enough to take in some WAC women's basketball action!

On a side note, this game took place the day after Dennis Erickson left for Arizona State. It took every decent cell in my body to keep myself from bringing a sign that said "He's Gone" to flaunt around. I think I made the right choice.

My friends and I had seats in the front row on the side opposite the benches. They were the seats assigned by our tickets, and we bought them three days before the game. The crowd was sparse on that side, so we stuck out pretty well. Towards the end of the women's game, the cheerleaders brought out pizza boxes to get the crowd cheering. WSU does the same thing, and despite all my crazy cheering during my college career, I never was able to secure one. Seeing an opportunity, I yelled and screamed and jumped up and down, all the while wearing crimson. The cheerleaders, who were apparently colorblind, handed me the pizza box amongst a cascade of boos from Vandal fans. The pizza box was a bit heavier than I expected and I opened it, expecting a coupon. Instead, there was a large pepperoni pizza! My group sat happily the rest of the night and enjoyed pizza while Kyle Weaver and company avoided a total letdown and defeated Idaho.

The 2009-2010 version of Idaho is nothing like the pushovers of that season. Through their first seven games of the season they are ranked 84 by kenpom.com, 31 spots higher than the Cougs. They play well on offense, ranked 45th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency. They beat Eastern Washington soundly and crushed a Portland team that did the same to UCLA. This is not a cupcake game for Washington State.

Let's take a look at some important factors:

Pace:

Once again, the Cougars face a fast-paced team. Idaho averages just over 70 possessions a game. As we said last time against Kansas State, that is ideal for a young Cougar team that struggles in offensive sets. However, the pace of game against the Wildcats seemed to get the best of Wazzu, as they struggled to take care of the ball. Luckily, Idaho will not have the athletic presence to pressure the ball like Kansas State was able to. Expect a third straight game over 70 possessions.

Rebounding:

Idaho is a poor defensive rebounding team. They are allowing 29.6% of opponent misses to be turned into an offensive rebound. However, that is actually better than the Cougs, who sit at 34.9%. The Vandals do a solid job on the offensive glass but will not have the strength advantages down low that Kansas State used to bully the Cougar bigs. WSU probably wins the rebounding battle in this one primarily on the backs of Casto, Capers, and Thompson.

Shooting:

Idaho has done a fine job making it tough on their opponents in making field goals. They are 84th in the country in eFG% allowed. They also shoot the ball well themselves, as they are 14th in the nation in eFG%. Despite a less-than-stellar performance last time out, the Cougs have also shot the ball well so far, ranking 16th in eFG%. They racked up most of those stats playing teams with similar athletes to Idaho, so look for this one to be a high scoring affair.

The biggest concern here is Idaho's ability to shoot the three. They are 4th in the nation on three point percentage, and the Cougs have proved time and time again in this short season that they struggle to defend that. This could be a difference maker in the matchup.

Free Throws:

The Vandals are very good at getting to the line, ranking 66th in the nation in free throw rate. They are even better at preventing the other team from getting there, ranking 47th in free throw rate allowed. This could be a problem for Wazzu, as they have relied heavily on free throws on many occasions this season. The good thing is that Reggie Moore has shown the ability to get in the lane against anybody, and Klay has done very well against smaller guards in drawing fouls. The Cougs should outperform previous Vandal competition in free throw rate. Don't be surprised to see Idaho at the charity stripe frequently as well. If you are recording this game on the DVR, be sure to leave some extra time.

Do not expect this game to be the blowout it has been the last few years Coug fans. Idaho will be tough team in the WAC conference and they've already shown what they can do in defeating a pretty solid Portland squad. Interestingly, the Vandals have ten transfers on their roster, including former Coug point guard Mac Hopson among a host of junior college guys. This matchup should be a contest worthy of the long rivalry between these two schools.

Kansas State 86, Washington State 69

Grady. — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 07:54:11 -0000

Yeah, well, our vet school is better than yours.

NCAA Basketball Stats

Player of the Game: Marcus Capers. Boy, this was a difficult choice, but hear me out. Klay had 22 points, but 9 turnovers. Reggie had 16 points - almost entirely from the free throw line - but 5 turnovers of his own. Look at efficiency and Capers wins: 9 points on 3 of 4 shooting, 2 boards, an assist, a steal and 2 blocks. And only 2 turnovers! Now if he could just hit his free throws...

Unsung Hero: I may just have to rename this the Reggie Moore award. See above; he played a good game but I'm denying him player of the game honors due to his uncharacteristically high turnover rate.

It was over when... When K-State assumed a 59-38 lead on Dominique Sutton's three-point play with 16:33 left.

Stat of the Game: Yeah. 25 turnovers.

We better beat Idaho.

What we learned last night

Nuss — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:08:31 -0000

More photos » by Rajah Bose - AP

Boy are we glad this guy's calling the shots for us.

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Follow us on Twitter @CougCenter and me @NussCoug!

We all had the sneaking suspicion that last night's game at the crucible of K2 would tell us a lot about the Cougs after they more or less stomped lesser competition for the first six games in what looks like a masterful bit of scheduling -- three cupcakes at home, a game against a lesser opponent on the road, a game against a lesser opponent on a neutral site, and finally a game against a little bit better (but still overmatched) opponent on a neutral floor.

Well, the game delivered as promised. We learned a heck of a lot last night -- most of it positive. Buckle up, because I've got a lot of stuff floating around in my head.

Gonzaga is exactly who we thought they were. I'm not going to talk a whole lot about the Bulldogs, because you know where you can go to get that stuff. But it's important to note because all of the rest of the analysis of the Cougs has to be put in the context of Gonzaga being a pretty darn good team -- especially defensively.

It might have taken 32 minutes for them to show up, but there is no question this is the best defensive Gonzaga team I've seen since I've paid attention to them. They've had good statistical defensive teams in the past, but that was built mostly on overwhelming physically overmatched WCC opponents. When it came time to play the big boys, they got torched. Those teams just didn't pass the eye test. This team passes the eye test.

However, if I was a Gonzaga fan, I might be just a tad bit worried about my offense. Without a reliable trigger man at the point -- a signature of Bulldog basketball over the years -- they look like they might struggle from time to time on that end.

Now, on to the Cougs.

This Cougar team is clearly -- CLEARLY -- better off with Ken Bone as coach than Tony Bennett right now. When the Cougars' offense is rolling, as it was in the first half last night, it's truly a sight to behold. The Cougs only finished with a 95.7 offensive rating, but you can largely chalk that up to scoring just six points over the final nine-plus minutes (minus the meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer. Quick math tells us that the team's efficiency probably was around 110 up until that point. That's awesome against a team like Gonzaga.

But can you imagine what this team would look like if Bennett were still coach? Walking it up the floor, awkward half court sets, everyone hesitating to shoot lest you find yourself right back on the bench? Offensive efficiencies hovering around 100 every night? Yeah, me neither.

With Bennett, we'd be talking about these guys being good in two years when they're seniors and juniors -- you know, when they've finally got Bennett ball "down." With Bone, we've got a team that's explosive on offense and is getting better every game on defense. Additionally, I think it's already becoming obvious that Bone is Bennett's superior as a game coach. At some point this year, we'll be talking about how the Cougs got a win thanks to some shrewd game plan or in-game decision from Bone. It almost happened last night.

When the year started, I was hesitant about Bone Ball -- felt like we were just too loose and undisciplined on both ends of the floor -- but I get more excited with each passing game. They're improving rapidly, and he's getting these guys to play to their strengths. I'm not going to make any bold pronounciations about whether he'll be better long term than Bennett would have been. But right now? I'm soooooo happy he's our coach.

The defense still needs some work. The Cougs are still having difficulty finding shooters in the open floor. In general, they did a better job fighting through screens -- although, as noted by some of our commenters, their technique could be better at times -- but they're still just too slow closing out on shooters. There's no reason why an average 3-point shooter should be able to get as many open looks as Matt Bouldin got. But they are making strides. Holding Gonzaga to around a 102 efficiency is nothing to sneeze at. These guys are getting incrementally better.

This team is just one legitimate big man away from being very, very good. That would be great news, if this team had a legitimate big man hanging out somewhere, either on the bench or waiting in the wings for next year. But since we don't, we're just going to have to be content with being pretty good this year, and pray to whatever god you believe in that Ken Bone can dig up a big man for next year's team.

Being loaded at guard can only take you so far if you don't have a frontcourt to do some of the dirty work. Yeah, we were able to run out to a big lead last night while generating turnovers and picking up a pile of loose-ball rebounds thanks to our guards crashing down on the boards. But when the game slowed down and Gonzaga started to get the ball to Elias Harris -- who is going to be an absolute beast when he learns to play hard for 40 minutes -- and decided to really crash the boards, the Cougs were pretty much powerless to stop them. It's going to be a point of frustration all year, and we've got to hope that our guards can make the difference more nights than not.

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more irritated I get that we don't have another quality big man on the roster. For all of the great things Tony Bennett did for this program, his infatuation with recruiting guards has left us in this untenable position.

Here is a list of frontcourt Bennett landed since 2007 (height/weight when recruited): Charlie Enquist (6-10/190), Fabian Boeke (6-10/225), James Watson (6-7/205), DeAngelo Casto (6-8/240), Brock Motum (6-9/215). He signed just five frontcourt players in three years, only one of which could be considered a legitimate Pac-10 big man. Sure, people thought Boeke would be around, but I think the fact that Casto more or less fell into his lap during the late signing period after qualifying at the 11th hour in 2008 more than makes up for that.

I know big men don't grow on trees, and I'm thankful for some of the guards he brought in. But it really was an inexcusable fail in recruiting that Bone and his players are paying for this year.

On a related note, Bone's got a heck of a dilemma on his hands at the 4 spot. Abe Lodwick has started every game at the 4; Nik Koprivica has been his primary relief. When Koprivica's in the game, the offense is better, as is the man-to-man defense. When Lodwick's in the game, the rebounding is better -- he's putting up better rebounding numbers in these seven games than Caleb Forrest did all of last year.

Last night, Bone elected to roll with Koprivica virtually the entire second half, probably the only decision all night I'm not sure I agreed with. We were getting killed so badly on the boards, and it sure seemed like we could have used Abe in there. Yet, Bone elected to stay with Koprivica. He seems to not want to play these two guys on the floor at the same time, so it's going to be interesting to see how he manages these two guys.

This team will be better off for having lost that game than they would have been had they won with Klay bailing them out again. Of course, nobody ever wants to lose. But sometimes you learn things in losing that you don't learn in winning. Both Reggie Moore and Marcus Capers said the Cougs didn't finish the game strong after racing out to the big lead. That's the second time it's happened this year. Against EWU, they were bailed out by Klay Thompson. No such luck last night, with Klay being locked down by the Zags' defense.

If this game ends up teaching them how to keep their foot on the gas for 40 minutes, then it will have been worth it. How different might last night have been if they had kept up the intensity enough to take care of the basketball down the stretch and continue to aggressively drive into the lane? They would have won even without Klay, and that's what this team needs to learn.

Besides, if the Cougs are in the mix for a Tournament berth in March, this will hardly be considered a bad loss.

Klay Thompson is still very much a work in progress. We wondered what would happen when Klay finally played an opponent with the length and athleticism to bother his shot. We found out -- 6-of-21 shooting for an ineffective 15 points. Steven Gray was physical with him all night long, working to deny Klay the ball as much as possible. When he did get the ball, he could hardly get off a shot.

It was painfully clear last night that if this team wants Klay to continue to perform at a high level when they're playing a quality opponent, he's going to have to work harder to get open -- seriously, he should get some videos of Stephen Curry and study them -- and his teammates are going to have to be more in tune with getting him the ball in spots where he can score. Not that this is all bad; if there's one thing Klay has shown over the last two years, it's that he learns from game to game -- not month to month or year to year. Again, there's no doubt in my mind the Cougs will grow from this.

Truthfully, Gray is probably going to be one of the better defenders Klay sees this year. But if you were worried about Klay leaving at the end of the year, last night should make you feel a little better. If I'm an NBA GM watching last night's game, I'm thinking Klay's still got some work to do.

Lastly, Greg Heister and Craig Ehlo suck. More specifically, they suck at being objective. It's not that they necessarily call a bad game, it's just that they try to represent this total farce of a facade of objectivity. I mean, on one possession, it looked like there was a foul down low on a Gonzaga player and Heister said, "Was that a foul? It better be a foul!" He tried backtracking later, but why pretend? If FSN is going to go so cheap that they can't send one of their better (a relative term, I know) announcing teams to Spokane, then just be a homer. It's fine with me. But quit pretending.

Especially Ehlo. For goodness sakes, Craig -- we know you're a Zag now. We know that the only WSU player you really know anything about is Casto because he grew up in Spokane. We get it. You are a Spokane guy who's closer to the Gonzaga program. Fine. Just drop the pretenses, and say you don't follow the Cougs all that closely, OK? Because it's really obvious

Washington State 89, IPFW 70

Grady. — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:44:46 -0000

NCAA Basketball Stats

This wasn't a basketball game, this was the Klay Thompson show.

Thompson went for a career high 37 points, on 15 of 20 shooting, as the Cougars ran away from the IPFW Mastodons in a high scoring affair.

The game was never really in doubt, so let's go through some bullet point style observations:

Klay Thompson is good. No, really. He's good. At one point in the second half, Ken Bone ran out a lineup of Thompson, Thames, Harthun, Watson and Enquist. Four reserves and one Klay. It was like KB was saying, 'It doesn't really matter who I throw out there with him, as long as Klay is on the court'. And, frankly, tonight it didn't. The crazy thing is that you'd think a huge scoring night for Klay would involve a billion three pointers. It didn't. He only made 2 of 3 beyond the arc, and the rest of his scoring came from the foul line (5 points) or inside the three-point line. He even acted like a post on a couple of occasions. If Klay can develop into an inside/outside threat, this is just the beginning of his dominance.
Before the game, Nuss sayeth: "The WSU big men: With a distinct size advantage (probably one of the two times we'll be able to say that this year), will the frontcourt begin to get sorted out?"
After the game, we got our answer: No. In fact, even with that noticeable size advantage (again, one of the few times we'll see it this year), WSU only outrebounded the Mastodons 35-33. Even worse, they lost the battle on the offensive glass, 33.3% to 31%. That's bad. Sure, there were a few long rebounds off of long shots that just didn't go the Cougars' way. But the lack of intensity and fundamentals under the basket at times was extremely frustrating. The frontcourt picture is possibly even blurrier now than before: Enquist, Motum and Watson were all bounced around for several minutes and neither one distanced themselves from the other two. Motum had a particularly embarrassing moment when he unintentionally hit the deck trying to convert a fast break with Klay Thompson. One of the two should have had an easy dunk or lay-in. Instead the ball bounced harmlessly out of bounds off an IPFW player. Lodwick and Koprivica played well in stretches, but also happen to be our most undersized forwards. We'll need one of the upper 6-footers to step up.
Xavier Thames is starting to make a name for himself in the backcourt. He played 20 minutes, as many as Marcus Capers, hit 3 of 4 shots and scored 7 points. More importantly, he looked comfortable doing it. We may not need to run Reggie Moore out there for 35+ minutes a night after all.
WHY CAN'T ABE LODWICK MAKE A THREE POINTER IN A GAME??!?!?!? I really hope it's not as frustrating for him as it is for me to watch. There is no way he's this bad of a shooter. No way. Abe was 0 for 4 tonight from distance, but grabbed 3 boards and made his only attempt inside the arc.
Good news: the Cougs were back to their old selves at the foul line, hitting 18 of 21. No Cougar starter missed a free throw attempt. Keep it up.
Why the Cougs won: unlike the last two games, getting to the foul line wasn't a big key for WSU in this one. The Cougs (mainly Klay) simply shot the lights out (60.2 eFG%), and held on to the ball (13.2% turnover rate). If you do those things consistently well, you're going to beat a lot of teams.

On to the awards:

Player of the Game: Klay Thompson. I'm starting to get concerned that no one else will win this award.

Unsung Hero: Xavier Thames. See above.

It was over when/Play of the Game: Deilvez Yearby air-mailed a one-handed dunk early in the second half, bouncing the ball off the backboard and into Nikola Koprivica's hands. Koprivica then passed the ball the length of the court to Reggie Moore, who was waiting on the other end to convert the dunk.

Stat of the Game: Klay Thompson. 37 points.

He's good.

Can Ken Bone be successful with his style at WSU?

Nuss — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:00:31 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

Ken Bone has been successful everywhere he's been with a style that's much faster than what WSU fans have become used to. Can he duplicate that success here?

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The Ken Bone era gets underway here in a few hours, and with that tip off comes not just a new coach, but a new way of playing basketball that dramatically diverges from the style we fans embraced with a zest and zeal unparalleled in modern Cougar athletics history.

Games with possessions in the 70s. Transition baskets. Ball pressure on the perimeter.

Yeah, it's going to be different. A lot different.

Sure, it's a little scary -- after all, the only significant success most of us have ever known as Cougar basketball fans came from that unique Bennett style that stressed discipline and execution above all else. But is the change necessarily a death knell to the winning we've come to expect? After all, for as much as we loved Bennett ball, it's not like that system had been proven to be the WSU key to consistently winning over the span of decades. No one really knows what the key is to being a consistent winner at WSU, because no one has really been consistently successful at all.

Back when Dick Bennett was getting ready for his second year, I interviewed him for a freelance piece for a magazine. I asked him a question about his slowdown style, and he bristled. Noticeably. So I explored it a little with him. We ended up talking a long time, but the gist of what he said was this: When I get the athletes to run, I'll run. But I've never had the athletes to run, so I coach the way I have to coach to get my particular set of players to be successful.

Do I actually believe that Dick Bennett would actually run if he had the Tar Heels' roster? Not a chance. Like any good coach, he has an unfailing belief in his way. But I think his point was valid -- if you don't have the horses to run, why in the heck would you try to play a style you can't hope to be successful at? Instead, play a style that tries to level the playing field with your particular athletes -- athletes who actually are willing to come and buy into a massive rebuilding job. Play to your strengths: discipline, decision making, effort. Those are the things you can control, regardless of natural talent.

The question, then, really is this: Does Bone have the kind of athletes necessary to play -- and win -- with an up-tempo style?

For the first time in this program's history, we can answer that question with a qualified "yes." There are enough athletes on the roster to actually entertain the notion of playing a transition style without being laughed out of a room -- or run off the court. But there are not enough of them here yet, and in order to continue to get those kinds of athletes to Pullman, Bone's got to be successful. Otherwise, the vicious cycle we Coug fans know all too well takes over, and you don't get the elite athletes and you slide back down into mediocrity.

Can he do it? I honestly don't know. There's no data on tempo and such out there to analyze teams from before 2004 to see if anyone has really been successful in his kind of a style, but I'm not sure it really matters. The landscape of college athletics changes so rapidly that I'm not convinced that history has to dictate future expectations. There are more major conference basketball recruits than ever in the Northwest. Gonzaga is a big-time program. Washington is a big-time program. It's a different time.

But if we were to reach back into the past for some evidence that this can work, I do remember a WSU team that had an awful lot of good athletes. My freshman year -- Kevin Eastman's first year -- we had a pretty good squad. Mark Hendrickson, Donminic Ellison, Tavares Mack, Shamon Antrum, Isaac Fontaine, Carlos Daniel ... there were some pretty athletic dudes in there. They actually played what I would consider a style very similar to Bone's: Lots of 3s (Hendrickson, Antrum, Ellison and Fontaine were all excellent long-range shooters) and they'd push it when it was available. And they were successful -- only NIT successful, but that's because Hendrickson missed six weeks with a broken hand. It wasn't necessarily a transition style, but it certainly wasn't walk-it-up either.

So, if I was to look at that, I'd have to say that yeah, Bone can be successful -- but he's gotta recruit as well as anyone before him has.

Kelvin Sampson was able to get the athletes to Pullman that Eastman rode for a couple of years (although I don't want to know how Sampson did it), but he's been the only one to really do it in the last two decades. Bone looks good so far, in landing Reggie Moore -- who already has done things athletically I'm pretty sure I've never seen a Cougar basketball player do -- and convincing the other recruits to stay on. But, ultimately, it's going to come down to momentum. If they win some this year and a lot next year, I think he can do it, because it starting to look like Bone could sell ice to an Eskimo. And it doesn't hurt to have Moore on board, who will all-too-happily sell urban kids on the virtues of Pullman.

But just like nobody had won here the Bennett way, nobody's proven they can get the kind of talent to Pullman to run and win consistently. They've either failed spectacularly (Paul Graham and Kevin Eastman) or never stuck around long enough to find out if it was possible (Sampson). And I suppose that's where we felt some safety in the comfort of the Bennett system: Even if the overall talent level wasn't top notch -- like last year -- there was a belief that we still could do some things simply by trusting the system.

And I guess that ties in with the final thing that concerns me about the uncertainty of the future. Under the Bennetts, the program had an identity. Yeah, the success had a lot to do with it, but for some reason, we all really, really identified with the scrappy mentality of Bennett ball. I suppose it's because it fit right in with the notion that Cougs have to do things a little bit differently to be successful, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. We were unique, and I think that's part of what you saw in the outpouring of support for the program. We played smart, thinking-man's basketball. It made us one-of-a-kind in the conference. And there was a lot of pride in that.

We're obviously going to no longer have that identity. Will fans continue to support the program -- even during the lean times, as they did with the Bennetts -- the way we did in the past without that to hang onto? I think that remains to be seen.

Ultimately, it's going to come down to what Bone is able to do with this group of players. Tony Bennett was able to turn two spectacular years into Klay Thompson, DeAngelo Casto, Mike Harthun and Marcus Capers. Will Bone be able to turn those guys into the next generation of great Cougar basketball players?

That's the task before him tonight.

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.

Behind the closed doors: Your first sneak peek at hoops in action

Nuss — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:19:01 -0000

Before each season, the basketball team usually holds a closed-door scrimmage against another school to get some live action against someone other than themselves. This year, that scrimmage took place against Montana in Spokane on Friday night. Details in mainstream media outlets have been light, because per NCAA rules, no media are allowed to attend.

That didn't stop us, however, from getting in touch with someone who was in attendance who was willing to share with us what he* saw transpire against the Griz.

* She? You'll never know! However, going with the generic male reference is just simpler, so we'll stick with that.

It's fantastic stuff from a guy who knows his hoops, and ought to give you a sense of what you'll see out of this team when it tips off for its exhibition game on Monday -- especially in how the team might look a lot different than what we've grown accustomed to over the past six years. Here's what he had to say.

First off, he said Klay Thompson and Nikola Koprivica didn't play. He didn't say why, but thought he heard someone say they were sick. So, any further analysis about style or pace of play has be interpreted in that context.

On offensive tempo: "The first thing you have to take into account is that Klay wasn't playing. They started two young guys, one of which was John Allen, and he was terrible. I mean, average at best. [he the other starter at guard was Marcus Capers, which would make sense]. Once Reggie Moore came in for (Allen), the tempo picked up a lot. That's one of the things Moore will change for the Cougs. He can push the tempo in a controlled fashion."

On whether the Cougs pushed the ball only at opportunity, or pushed with a purpose: "When Reggie got in, it was push with a purpose. When the other kid was in, they didn't push it at all. So I guess that gets back to my original point that with the right personnel in the game, they will want to push, and I think they can push."

On defensive style: "I saw a lot of pack, mostly just standard man to man. They didn't really have a call for it. They just ran it. [Meaning, it was their default, base defense.] Heels to the line, make you shoot over the top. They did do a little more trying to at least contest entry passes and wing passes versus just letting the opponent have it as in years past. They weren't in full denial, as they would still contest shots with their heels at 3-point line.

On mixing it up defensively: "I'd say about 10 to 15 percent of the time picked it up at three-quarter court. That seemed to be a little more of a tactical thing than a style-of-play kind of thing. Montana has a point guard [Anthony Johnson] who is real good, and they were trying to get the ball out his hands. ...

"The one thing I did notice is that they doubled the post every time it went in. Montana had a height advantage; not an athletic height advantage, but just a height advantage. It came right away, every time, and it was called from the bench, but I think his call was more to remind people that they needed to zone up on the back side than being the actual double team call."

On DeAngelo Casto: "He is huge. He's added 10-15 pounds of muscle since I saw him last. While he's yet to add the 15-foot jumper to his game, he's improved around the rim and can score without dunking. He scored six of the first eight points of the scrimmage. He seems to have really improved his touch around the basket to the point where he doesn't have to dunk everything."

On the new guys: "I was impressed with Reggie Moore and Brock Motum."

On Moore: "Moore handled the opposing guards well on both ends. He was able to penetrate at times even when everybody knew he was going to go to the rim. He was definitely the only guy I saw who could do that for the Cougs. I can see Casto getting some monster dunks this year off of Moore's drives. ...

"I don't remember him taking anything more than a 12- or 15-foot jumper. I think there were two or three times where the shot clock got below 10 and they just went with a high screen and roll and it was his option to either pass or drive, and all three times he got to the rim and either made it or got to the line. He can definitely finish at or above the rim."

On Motum: "Motum was physically impressive in that he's legitimately 6-9 and might just have a 7-0 wingspan. He can step out and hit a three, and is strong on the defensive glass. He was very savvy for a young guy."

On Ken Bone: "I was also genuinely impressed with Bone. The kids seem to like him, and I like the stuff he's running. Everybody who stepped on the floor gave great effort on both ends. ...

"Style wise, it seems like he's trying to play athletically, but without athletes. Reggie fits into that, Casto fits into that ... but it just seemed like they were only one or two athletes better than Montana, who's a good Big Sky school, but certainly not Pac-10. Reggie was obviously the best guard in the gym, but (Montana's) two starters could have played for WSU and fit in -- at least, without Klay in there.

"The impression I left with of the roster as a whole is that they might be a guard short."

That was about it. If you're interested in the final score, he couldn't say exactly, but said the Cougs "won" by double digits. Just remember, though -- Grippi reported last year that the Cougs got run by Bone's Portland State squad. So take these scrimmages for what they're worth.

So, what in here do I think is of note? One of the big things is that Moore is the real deal. (I have no idea why he wasn't starting, but I wouldn't read anything into it.) Anthony Johnson is a very good guard, Big Sky or not, and to say that Moore was obviously the best guard on the floor is really, really saying something. This is a team that desperately needs not only a guy who can penetrate -- Taylor Rochestie could do that -- but a guy who can finish or draw a foul when he gets there.

It doesn't surprise me one bit that Bone would try to mix things up defensively to gain an advantage. For six years, we watched the Bennetts, who believed in their system the way Vince Lombardi believed in his sweep. Their teams were going to do what they do, and believed that their key to success was doing that one thing so ridiculously well that it was sufficient. Adding wrinkles would only confuse the lads and make the bread and butter less effective.

Well, Bone is much more of what you might call a mad scientist -- much more like a guy like Bill Walsh, if we're to continue the football analogy. He's going to look for any possible way to exploit a team's weakness and attack it. That can be both good and bad. When dealing with such a young roster, you run the risk of doing exactly what the Bennetts hoped to avoid: Confusing kids to the point that they become a jack of many trades, but master of none, and thus mediocre overall.

Lastly, the observation of Bone's style versus the roster he has I think is an astute one. Bone said from day one after watching this roster work out last spring that they need more Pac-10 caliber athletes. Coug fans might have bristled at that a bit, given the success we had under the Bennetts. But it makes sense in the context of the way Bone wants to play, although it certainly won't do anything to quell those who wonder if we can even be successful under Bone's system, or whether we need a Bennett-type system to compete in Pullman.

What do I think that means? I think it means that I'd be fairly surprised if you don't see a little bit of roster turnover at the end of this year. I'll be shocked if Patrick Simon is the only freshman next year. They desperately need another big man, and I wouldn't be surprised if they go after another athletic guard, too. I suppose it depends on how certain guys develop.